Residents raise safety, setback concerns as DTE representative urges balanced local ordinance on battery storage

Public comment at a Gratiot County Board of Commissioners meeting focused on battery energy storage systems and the county ordinance being drafted to regulate them, with residents raising safety and environmental concerns and a contractor for DTE urging measured rules to preserve local control.

Speakers at the microphone described worries about contamination from failed systems reaching farm tiles, ditches and lakes, the adequacy of setbacks and landscape screening, and the ability of local soils and wildlife to support planned vegetation buffers. A DTE-affiliated speaker sought to counter those concerns by citing modern safety standards and permitting requirements and warning that overly restrictive local rules could push applications to the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC).

The exchange was part of the meeting’s public-comment period and did not include a formal vote or ordinance action. Board members and staff said the planning commission is drafting an ordinance and that additional…