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Emergency management briefs commissioners on battery storage fire response; independent plume study ongoing
Summary
County emergency-management officials and AES discussed fire-safety planning for Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) and reported an independent plume study based on worst-case scenarios is ongoing; a resident asked the board for a copy of the study.
Commissioner Chad A. Blessinger reported on a meeting between Emergency Management Agency staff and AES about fire safety for Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) and said an independent plume study had been conducted and is ongoing.
Blessinger told the board the plume analysis was performed by a third party and that the findings are "based on the worst-case scenarios." During public comment, resident Dave Duncan asked the board for a copy of the plume study and provided contact information for a Marshall County commissioner president regarding local planning and zoning ordinances for solar parks and BESS.
Separately, Commissioner Nick Hostetter summarized topics from the Emergency Management Agency Advisory Board’s May 11 meeting, including the 2025 SHSP and EMPG grants, the EDP and Crossvine Solar Park projects and preparations for BESS fires, and the county’s IPAWS public-notification system. No formal regulatory change or emergency declaration was made at the May 18 meeting; the board recorded the study as ongoing and asked staff to continue coordination with AES and relevant agencies.
The county did not indicate a timeline for releasing the plume study; a resident request for a copy was recorded in the public comment section of the minutes.
