1. Westchester County, N.Y. – Residents in Yonkers are pressuring city officials to renew a moratorium on battery storage before it expires in July.
- Battery fire fears predictably are the primary issue, per a local news report this week, which stated at least one project proposed by Saw Mill River Energy Storage is on hold pending the resolution of a study commissioned by local officials.
2. Atlantic County, New Jersey – Sorry Atlantic Shores, but you’re not getting your EPA permit back.
- In a decision Tuesday, the EPA’s Environmental Appeals Board decided not to reconsider a decision by the agency to revoke an air permit for the Atlantic Shores offshore wind project.
- Crucially, the opinion indicates that the EPA may now have a green light from the appeals board to revoke other permits held by offshore wind projects under President Donald Trump’s anti-wind executive order: “The [EPA’s] expressed intent to reevaluate the Project and its environmental impacts as part of a review called for under the Presidential Memorandum is reasonable, and granting a remand under these circumstances is within the Board’s discretion.”
3. St Clair County, Michigan – We may soon have what appears to be the first-ever county health regulations targeting renewable energy.
- You may remember we warned you about this – the health department lead in St. Clair County, Remington Nevin, has led efforts to craft regulations on solar, wind, and battery facilities. We predicted at the time it could be a gambit to get around Michigan’s new permitting law that was intended to override local restrictions on renewables.
- Well, we now have the draft rules, and they would impose noise and visual impact requirements (which the regulation called “visual pollution mitigation”). The county health department would also be required to sign off on any approval of a renewable energy project.
- County officials held a public comment hearing Wednesday – now we wait for a final decision on this move.
4. Freeborn County, Minnesota – Officials in this county have rejected a Midwater Energy Storage battery storage project citing concerns about fires.
- Apparently, the project would also be sited near a state-designated protected river. As we’ve previously explained, concerns about environmental and wildlife impacts are the most likely tripwire for communities to become hostile to developers.
5. Little River County, Arkansas – A petition circulating in this county would put the tax abatement for a NextEra solar project up for a vote county-wide.
6. Van Zandt County, Texas – Officials in this county have reportedly succeeded in getting a court to impose a restraining order against Taaleri Energy to halt the Amador battery storage project.
- The order will last for 14 days and is intended to give the company time to prove the project complies with national fire codes.
7. Gillespie County, Texas – Peregrine Energy’s battery storage proposal in the rural town of Harper is also facing a mounting local outcry.
- Residents are most concerned about the proximity to a nearby school and have adopted the slogan, “Don’t BESS With Texas.” (Not sure how I feel about how catchy that is.)
8. Churchill County, Nevada – Battery storage might be good for Nevada mining, but we have what appears to be our first sign of revolt against the technology in the state.
- People living in and near the tiny desert town of Fallon are resisting a Redwood Materials’ storage facility that was already approved by the county planning commission.
- Per local news reports, concerned locals are calling for additional permitting requirements on the project, but county officials are siding right now with Redwood. The next hearing on the project is tomorrow.
9. San Luis Obispo County, California – Vistra, the company overseeing the now-defunct Moss Landing battery project, has
withdrawn its application with the town of Morro Bay to build a new battery storage project.
