Battery storage safety and emergency-response worries surface in ordinance review

Battery storage — and specifically large lithium systems tied to commercial solar projects — drew sustained concern from commissioners and the public. A participant said she discovered a memorandum of option for a parcel that included battery storage and urged the commission to consider banning or tightly restricting battery systems: "Putting the pylons into the ground and maybe creating some vibration... but having battery storage systems with the lithium batteries... those, have you ever seen somebody try to put out a Tesla?" she asked, noting risks to firefighters and potential toxic runoff into regional cave systems.