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Battery storage safety and emergency-response worries surface in ordinance review
Summary
Commissioners and residents raised fire, chemical and cave‑system contamination concerns over proposed on‑site battery storage for solar farms, urging strict limits or prohibitions and added planning for firefighters.
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.
Commission members agreed to treat battery storage as a discrete agenda item (item #9 in the draft) and to refine standards. Commissioners discussed whether the draft should outright prohibit battery storage, require additional engineering review, or impose special emergency‑response and decommissioning rules. No formal action was taken; staff will carry battery storage concerns forward for ordinance language and technical review.
