Surry County adopts battery energy storage zoning rules after public hearing

The Surry County Board of Supervisors adopted a zoning text amendment creating a battery energy storage systems (BESS) use following an applicant-driven drafting process, staff review and a public hearing. Applicant representatives described BESS technology and economic benefits; counsel and staff presented draft ordinance language patterned on the county’s solar ordinance and emphasized required application materials, safety standards and conditional-use permitting.

Key provisions included a base 200-foot setback from property lines (with narrower setbacks allowed adjacent to substations), a 500-foot buffer from occupied structures as a default for sensitive uses, a 20-foot noncombustible area immediately inside the security fence plus a 100-foot vegetative buffer, and noise limits set at 65 dBA at property lines with a 55 dBA limit at the exterior of occupied structures in agricultural districts. The draft also requires application submittals including performance and operations plans, fire-detection and suppression standards referencing the latest NFPA guidance, emergency-response plans satisfactory to county emergency services, noise studies at final site plan and decommissioning/bonding commitments.

Resident public commenters urged caution on emergency response, independent review, noise levels and field visits to operational facilities. Matt Kim, a fire protection engineer, told the board the proposed setbacks and safety measures were conservative relative to NFPA standards and said fielded systems typically use lithium iron phosphate chemistry; he described IP ratings used to protect module enclosures from water intrusion.

The planning commission recommended the ordinance 9–1; after discussion the board voted to adopt the text amendment (Ordinance 2025-02). Board members and staff emphasized that specific projects would return as conditional use permit applications with site-specific conditions addressing noise, emergency access and other operational concerns.

Next steps: ordinance is now on the books; any proposed battery project will require a CUP and final site-plan submittal including noise and emergency-response studies.