Planning and Zoning for Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS)

The electric energy system in our country is in the midst of dramatic changes, with new technologies deployed and infrastructural investment occurring at a speed and scale unprecedented in our nation’s history. One example is the rapid increase in use of battery energy storage systems (BESS). Batteries are increasingly part of consumer devices and vehicles, but also as part of “behind-the-meter” electric systems in homes and businesses, as part of utility substations and transmission systems, and incorpo-rated into solar and wind electric generation projects. What do planners need to know about BESS when evaluating risks and nuisances? Where might BESS be located in the community? Large-scale energy storage in liquid, gas, and solid fuels is quite common in our communities. But electric energy storage in batteries is a different thing. Or is it? Communities will need to consider how stationary battery storage – BESS – fits into land use plans and zoning regulations. This webinar will describe the local benefits and risks that different battery land uses bring to the community; what communities should expect of battery developers, owners, and managers; and how planners can begin to put this new energy technology in the context of local land use decisions. Guest Host: APA Sustainable Communities Division/S&R Webinar Series CM 1.5 SR 1.0