Covington Council extends moratorium on battery storage permits for six months

The Covington City Council voted Tuesday to renew a six-month moratorium on accepting and processing applications for battery energy storage system facilities, extending a pause on permitting to give staff and the planning commission time to study how best to regulate the technology.

Councilmember Beth moved to approve an ordinance renewing the BESS moratorium and Councilmember Debbie seconded; the motion passed without recorded opposition. The extension will run through May 2026, staff said.

Planning Manager Selena told council the city adopted the first moratorium in May 2024 and extended it in 2025 after staff began a code review. “We originally adopted this moratorium in May 2024 as a result of wanting to understand what the regulations were on battery energy storage facilities and how those are addressed in our code,” Selena said. She said the planning commission has placed BESS on its work plan and staff are gathering existing regulations and attending trainings to develop draft code language.

Staff noted state legislation and evolving permit standards could affect local code, and council members agreed the extra time is needed to get rules right. No members of the public testified during the hearing.

The ordinance as moved by council renews the city’s prohibition on acceptance, processing, or approval of land‑use or building permits related to BESS facilities for six months while the city’s regulatory review continues. Council directed staff to pursue the planning commission schedule and to return with draft code amendments or a recommendation before the moratorium’s expiration if feasible.

Why it matters: jurisdictions across Washington have been reassessing rules for utility‑scale and large battery installations because of fire, safety, land‑use, and infrastructure concerns. Council’s extension gives Covington staff and its planning commission time to draft local land‑use standards and watch state-level rulemaking before accepting new applications.

What’s next: staff said they will bring proposals to the planning commission in the first half of 2026 and return to council with recommended code language. The moratorium may be extended again if additional time is needed for regulatory or legislative developments.