Chino residents voice concerns over proposed battery storage facility

Some Chino residents are voicing their concerns about a proposed 400-megawatt battery storage facility that is set to go before the city's planning commission on Wednesday night. 

Proponents say that the project will help California reach its clean energy goals, but many residents say that the massive facility could cause safety issues in the surrounding community. 

The Dirac Energy Storage Project, by Aypa, would go directly next to an existing Southern California Edison substation.  According to Aypa's website, lithium iron phosphate, or LFP batteries, would charge from the SCE grid when electricity is abundant, then send it back to the grid for regional use when energy is scarce. 

The SCE substation in question is located directly across the street from Ayala Park, where community members often take their dogs to play.

"That's not good. I guess, because it's next to a park," said Sal Villanueva, who lives nearby. "It all depends on how they want to store it with these batteries, because sometimes it doesn't go as planned, and you have to be careful."

It's the proximity to the park that has some residents, including Richard Rodriguez, concerned. 

"Well, if it did catch on fire, how long would that shut down the park?" he asked. 

The Dirac Project website says that the Chino facility's LFP batteries stay more stable at high temperatures, especially compared to the nickel manganese cobalt batteries that were stored at the Moss Landing Facility, which was the spot of a massive battery storage facility fire along the central coast in January 2025 that forced nearly 1,500 people to evacuate their homes.

Additionally, the website says that the facility will be built outdoors so that first responders have direct access from every approach. Still, residents don't feel entirely safe. 

"It does kind of make me a little worried, like, well, how will that be affected by the heat? Is that something that can catch on fire from the heat?" Rodriguez said. "I got pretty big dogs, so to try to find somewhere to take them would be a headache."

Related: Covina residents speak out against proposed battery storage facility

Villanueva said that if officials can prove the project will be safe for his community, especially located next to a park, then they can continue on as planned. 

CBS LA reached out to Chino city and Chino Fire Department officials for comment on the proposal, but both declined comment on short notice.