Klamath County planning commission backs conditional use permit for 29‑acre battery storage near Malin Substation

Klamath County planning commissioners voted unanimously Jan. 27 to accept staff recommendations and forward a conditional use permit for a proposed 29‑acre battery energy storage system (BESS) adjacent to the Malin Substation to the county board for final decision.

Justin Throne, the planning staff presenter, described the site east of Malin and its role in the regional grid, saying the Malin area is a “focal point” on the California‑Oregon intertie and arguing the facility’s function at the point of interconnection supports treating BESS as a commercial utility facility for land‑use purposes. Throne told the commission the project footprint covers about 29 acres and that the application frames the facility as a large‑scale storage resource intended to provide dispatchable power and grid support.

The applicant, Kelly McGill, the lead developer, told the commission the applicant “agrees with that characterization” and cited Klamath County code and Oregon administrative rule OAR 660‑006‑00254J in support of classifying BESS as a facility that serves the purpose of generating power. McGill also invited technical experts to address safety questions raised in public comments.

Michael Stanley, a senior fire and emergency services consultant with Jensen Hughes, responded to safety concerns by describing updated technology and operational safeguards. Stanley said modern systems use lithium iron phosphate chemistry, have battery‑management systems that can isolate failing cells and follow NFPA 855 spacing and distancing recommendations. On firefighting tactics he advised, in measured terms, that emergency responders “let it burn” (allowing a contained thermal event to self‑extinguish while focusing suppression on vegetation and exposure), and he emphasized the importance of an emergency response plan, mutual‑aid arrangements and routine training for local firefighters.

Local economic supporters also addressed the commission. Andrew Stork, representing the Klamath County Economic Development Association, said the project’s capital investment is estimated at about $364,000,000, could support more than 200 construction workers over the build period and might generate roughly $2.3 million in annual tax revenue. Todd Andress, speaking from experience at Pacific Power, framed storage as a necessary tool to manage regional renewable variability and cited state policy drivers for large storage resources.

Commissioners focused questions on land‑use classification, construction timing related to wildlife protections (red‑tailed hawk buffers and mule deer winter range), access and easement issues, fire‑suppression water supply and operational readiness of the local volunteer fire district. Samantha Bennett, the project ecologist, said the design avoids an active red‑tailed hawk nest with a 0.1‑mile buffer and that the applicant is negotiating a memorandum of understanding with the Klamath Watershed Partnership and ODFW on mule deer mitigation.

After discussion, the planning commission adopted the applicant’s proposed functional definition of BESS under the cited OAR and then moved to accept staff recommendations (referenced to page 20 of the staff report), adopt findings and the conditions listed in section 6 of the report plus additional conditions presented during the staff slideshow. The commission voted unanimously to forward the conditional use permit (CLUP 8‑25) with those conditions to the Klamath County Board of Commissioners for final action.

Next steps: the planning commission’s recommendation and the conditions of approval will be included in the record forwarded to the county commissioners for their review and final decision. The commission did not set an effective date; any implementation or construction schedule will depend on the county’s final action and the applicant’s ability to meet conditions such as easement acquisition, wildlife mitigation and the required emergency response planning.

Sources and attributions in this article are drawn from the Jan. 27, 2026 planning commission hearing transcript, including statements by Justin Throne (planning staff), Kelly McGill (lead developer), Michael Stanley (Jensen Hughes), Samantha Bennett (ecologist), Andrew Stork (KCEDA) and Todd Andress (Pacific Power).