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Planning commission reviews draft battery energy storage ordinance, discusses tiers, decommissioning and financial assurance
Summary
Staff presented a draft ordinance covering battery energy storage systems that would allow smaller accessory systems broadly (tier 1 ≤600 kW) and require conditional-use review, decommissioning plans and financial assurances for larger systems; commissioners recommended clarifying conditional-use timing and adding corporate-guarantee language.
Fergus Falls City Planning Commission members reviewed a staff-drafted ordinance on battery energy storage systems (BESS) on Oct. 27 and discussed key thresholds, safety reviews and financial protections to cover decommissioning costs.
Clara Beck, planning staff, said the draft combines existing solar ordinance language with new provisions for battery systems and divides projects into two tiers. "The larger systems are going to require a decommissioning plan, which is very similar to our solar," Beck said, and added that building, electrical and fire officials would play a role in applications and safety review.
Key provisions commissioners discussed included a tiered approach: tier 1 systems would be treated as accessory uses and allowed broadly (staff cited projects 600 kilowatts or less), while tier 2 projects larger than that threshold would undergo conditional-use permit review so the commission could impose site-specific screening and conditions.
Commissioners asked staff to clarify several technical points in the draft: emergency backup systems cited in the draft were limited to 20 kilowatt-hours; one member noted that electric-vehicle batteries commonly are on the order of 100 kWh and asked for clearer distinctions between backup and larger storage systems. Commissioners also asked that the draft explicitly tie required building and fire-safety reviews to the building official and fire department.
Decommissioning and financial assurance drew detailed attention. The draft retains a decommissioning plan and examples of acceptable financial security (bond, cash escrow). Commissioners suggested adding a "financial test" option used elsewhere for large firms and including corporate or parent-company guarantees as an alternative assurance. Beck said the city could accept multiple assurance types and that staff would name options in the ordinance language.
The draft also includes a recycling-of-materials provision described as "as practical," and staff said that smaller accessory systems will rely primarily on building-code and electrical reviews. Beck said she would clarify conditional-use language and align the procedural timing (discussed changing a 30-working-day response to a 60-day rule) to match other land-use actions.
No formal vote on ordinance language occurred; the commission agreed to continue review at a future meeting and to consider a subcommittee if needed.
