Following last week's lithium battery fire at an Escondido storage facility that prompted evacuation orders and warnings, county supervisors Wednesday approved policies regulating the approval and operation of future energy-storage sites in unincorporated areas, but stopped short of imposing a moratorium on new facilities.
The Board of Supervisors, on a 4-1 vote, approved additional requirements for fire suppression technical reports and/or disclosures to ensure new battery energy storage systems go "above and beyond" current code requirements.
The board's vote came after lengthy public hearing and discussion among the supervisors themselves on how to regulate battery energy storage systems, which some residents have criticized as dangerous to their communities.
Supervisors also nixed a proposal that would have required new BESS facilities to use modular designs within an enclosure, and have projects follow National Fire Protection Association guidelines.
Get top local stories in San Diego delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC San Diego's News Headlines newsletter.
Based on an amendment from board Vice Chair Terra Lawson-Remer, the county fire chief will instead "analyze appropriate residential buffer distances based on plume modeling and develop a plan for battery energy storage systems facilities." The chief is expected to update the board within 45 days.
In a statement, Lawson-Remer said battery storage infrastructure "is necessary for us to meet our climate goals, but these facilities must be sited and built in ways that protect the health and safety of our residents."
"After the recent fires, I listened to resident concerns and developed an approach that will establish safeguards to keep residents safe while allowing for climate-friendly battery storage to continue to be built," she added.
Board Chairwoman Nora Vargas said while public safety was vital, battery storage facilities are an important renewable energy source, and imposing a moratorium on such projects "may not be the best approach."
She said rather than halting such facilities, the county should approve best practices, including fire suppression plans, she added.
Saying he couldn't support any policy change without a pause on non- container facilities, Supervisor Jim Desmond -- who was recovering from an illness and participated via teleconference -- voted no.
Supervisor Joel Anderson said in a statement that as an elected official representing communities facing extreme fire risk, "it is important that (the board) move forward with the highest and safest standards in the nation in order to protect our residents."
Before making their decision, supervisors heard from numerous residents in favor of a moratorium.
Stephani Baxter, a Fallbrook Community Planning Group member, said there are two BESS projects in her community, one of which is near a watershed. She described them not only as a noise nuisance, but also the cause of light pollution and lowered property values.
"If this is truly about conservation and sustainability, I wonder where the environmental advocacy groups are for such a precious watershed," Baxter added.
Opponents said a moratorium would result in lost jobs and damage the county's overall climate action goals. Serena Pelka, a policy advocate with the Climate Action Campaign, said BESS facilities helped prevented blackouts during a summer of high temperatures in the county.
"Keeping the lights on saves lives, and keeps our economy stable," Pelka said. "The board has to ask itself, what is the human-health cost if we stop building battery storage in our region?"
The item was already scheduled for the board but gained more urgency following the Thursday afternoon fire at the SDG&E facility. The fire was allowed to burn out by itself -- per industry standard, a statement from the Escondido Fire Department read. Just one of the site's 24 cells caught fire.
While no one was injured by the fire, evacuation orders were issued to businesses in the largely industrial part of the city.
Another recent fire took place earlier this year by the border. Fire authorities in Otay Mesa also issued evacuation orders, as lithium-ion fires are notoriously difficult to extinguish. According to CalFire, the threat of potential poisonous vapors and explosions prompted the evacuation orders.
Some residents backed the idea of a moratorium.
"Area residents are renewing their call for the county to issue a moratorium on building new lithium battery storage facilities in neighborhoods," according to a statement issued last week by a group of residents, including JP Theberge of the Elfin Forest Harmony Grove Town Council and Joe Rowley, a retired engineer and battery storage facility developer.
"The Escondido battery fire is unfolding in an industrial area away from homes and residences. However, it reinforces the concerns of residents that a project that is 10 times larger (the Seguro project) is being proposed, which would be surrounded by hundreds of homes and upwind from a hospital in northern San Diego County, near Escondido," they wrote. "Despite the current fire being in an industrial area, hundreds of businesses were evacuated and many more were told to shelter-in-place. Schools located downwind were closed today as well."
Had supervisors passed a moratorium, it could have frozen the proposed AES' Seguro storage project in Escondido, not far from where Thursday's fire took place. The project would be capable of storing up to 320 megawatts or 1,280 megawatt hours worth of energy -- several times larger than the facility where the fire continues to burn.
Without the BESS facilities, the county could have a difficult time meeting its climate goals.
The battery storage facilities are a component of the county's green energy goals, storing energy from renewable sources such as solar or wind to use as needed. They are intended as an alternative or at least a supplement to fossil fuel energies such as natural gas and oil.
Since 2021, there have been 45 fires at similar BESS facilities, including one at the Otay Mesa battery storage earlier this year and one in Valley Center last year.
