Vacaville battery storage project draws hours of opposition at final public hearing

A proposed lithium-ion battery storage facility near Vacaville drew hours of public opposition Tuesday as California Energy Commission officials held their final in-person public hearing on the controversial project.

The Corby battery energy storage project is proposed on farmland near Vacaville and has faced strong pushback from nearby residents and the group Keep Vacaville Safe since it was announced.

"The community is frustrated. The city, the county, the people, we all agree that this project is not in the right location."  said Sarah Dunn, a project opponent and member of Keep Vacaville Safe. 

Residents have raised concerns about the project's potential environmental impacts, emergency evacuations and the risk of fires involving lithium-ion batteries.

"It isn't about whether or not to have clean energy. This is about where to site the facility," said Michael Gellar, who lives about 1,000 feet from the proposed project site on Kilkenny Road.

Gellar said he has lived in his home for nearly 40 years and worries the facility could affect property values and his family's quality of life.

"It would ruin us. It would financially, it would ruin us. Who's going to buy a house next to a battery energy storage facility? Would you?" Gellar said.

The California Energy Commission has been reviewing the project as it moves toward a final decision on whether it should be approved.

"This evening is absolutely critical," said Drew Bohan, the CEC's executive director.

CEC staff recommended approving the project in July following an environmental review and staff assessment spanning more than 1,000 pages.

Bohan said that recommendation is not the final word and that commissioners can ultimately change course.

"This is not just a check-the-box exercise," Bohan said of Tuesday's hearing. "It's very much to hear."

CEC staff told residents their analysis found the project's environmental impacts would be minimal.

Opponents, however, said they hope commissioners will take their concerns into account before making a final decision.

"A lot of their detailed analysis relies on deferring a lot of the issues that we pointed out, like evacuations and soil contaminations until after approval. We feel like that should be part of the analysis of an environmental report," said Dunn. "I hope that our feedback will be important to them and they'll take it into consideration. But ultimately, we have no control over which way this is going to go." 

Among those speaking against the proposed location during hours of public comment Tuesday night was Solano County Supervisor Mitch Mashburn, who personally opposes the project and pointed out that it would be in violation of Solano County's ordinance regulating where battery energy storage systems (BESS) can go. 

"Why are we considering this project at this site?" Mashburn asked the CEC, drawing applause from the crowd.

CBS Sacramento asked Bohan if the CEC considers local BESS ordinances when deciding whether or not to approve a battery project. 

"We absolutely consider them. We consider public comment. We consider comment from the local governments. In the end, it's not the decisive factor, but we absolutely review it and look at it and understand this community has arrived at certain decisions that it thinks is best for the community, and we try our best to respect those. The statute, however, says we've got to make a decision on the merits and based on the law that that we're guided by," said Bohan. 

Solano County officials and residents have pushed for the project to be relocated to the Lambie Industrial Park in Fairfield. 

The CEC said Tuesday that while the environmental impacts of the alternative locations are similar, the sites proposed by the county do not advance the project's goals.

Project representatives have maintained that the Corby facility would be safe and reliable.

"It supports the Governor's renewables goals, but it also supports the grid for all of us that use energy or any electricity of any sort, because it provides a buffer, a backup that can be utilized anytime throughout the day," Bohan said.

No decision was made Tuesday. The CEC is expected to vote on whether to approve or deny the Corby project during its final hearing on Nov. 18 in Sacramento. 

Public comment is being accepted online through September 14.