Commission approves 85‑MW battery storage project at Cota and Rincon Streets

The Planning & Housing Commission on Dec. 18 approved a conditional use permit for an 85‑megawatt, four‑hour battery energy storage facility proposed by Circle City Energy Storage LLC (ENGIE) on 5.53 acres at the northwest corner of Cota and Rincon Streets.

Staff planner Melinda Lopez presented the project as a public utility installation in the M‑1 (light manufacturing) zone and said it would occupy a previously underused heavy‑equipment storage site. Lopez said the project includes about 120 battery enclosures, a front‑of‑board station to convert voltage for Southern California Edison (SCE) interconnection, replacement of two wooden poles with steel poles in the city right‑of‑way, decorative perimeter walls and street‑front landscaping. She recommended the commission find the project exempt from CEQA under categorical exemptions (Classes 32, 1, 2, 3 and 4) and adopt the conditional use permit with…