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Solano County adopts zoning rules for large battery storage, cites safety and setbacks
Summary
After a public hearing and multi‑year stakeholder process, the Board of Supervisors adopted a permanent ordinance regulating front‑of‑meter battery energy storage systems, setting a 1,000 kWh threshold, prohibiting facilities in sensitive zones and requiring third‑party risk reviews and financial assurance.
The Solano County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to adopt a permanent zoning ordinance for large battery energy storage systems after a public hearing and two years of staff and technical working‑group review. The ordinance regulates front‑of‑meter systems with a capacity above 1,000 kilowatt‑hours, prohibits those facilities in agricultural, residential, resource conservation and park zoning districts, and requires heightened safety, setback and decommissioning standards.
Alan Calder, Planning and Program Manager, and Eric Hagstrom, associate planner, told the board the ordinance is intended to address safety concerns shown in past incidents and to provide a clear local permitting pathway. "Thermal runaway is an uncontrollable, increase in temperature and a release of energy in these batteries," Hagstrom said, describing the risk that informed the county's standards. The ordinance establishes larger setbacks for systems that present any risk of thermal runaway — including a 300‑foot buffer from sensitive receptors and a requirement for a 30‑foot fire‑rated access road around modules — while providing reduced setbacks and incentives for technologies judged to pose no such risk.
The measure requires project applicants to fund third‑party technical reviews selected by the county, provide plume and soil baseline studies, post 100% financial assurance for full decommissioning before commercial operation and commit to manufacturer recovery of battery cells. Staff also said projects will be discretionary (use permits) and subject to project‑level CEQA review when required. Supporters including the Solano County Farm Bureau and volunteer technical reviewers said the ordinance balanced opportunities for clean‑energy infrastructure with protections for agricultural lands and public safety. The ordinance was adopted by a vote of 5‑0.
