Santa Barbara County is one step closer to adopting new requirements for solar and battery energy storage system (BESS) projects.
Set for the Board of Supervisors’ second and final reading in late September, a policy package to amend multiple county ordinances for consistency with proposed standards addresses battery units of various sizes—ranging from industrial BESS facilities to chargers small enough to fit inside a Tesla driver’s garage.
“One thing through this cleanup we wanted to clarify is the notion of what happens when [someone says], ‘Oh, it’s just my Tesla battery pack on my garage wall,’ or a small battery supporting a coffee shop or something like that,” Planning and Development Deputy Director Alex Tuttle said at the board’s Sept. 1 meeting.
“So, we did add some clarifying text,” Tuttle continued, “to note that … the sensitive receptor [requirement] really would not kick in until you get into those potentially larger systems that you don’t typically see with single-family dwellings or for small commercial support.”
Among the new standards for solar and BESS projects that encompass half of an acre or more is a 50-foot setback between proposed projects and existing “sensitive receptors,” such as school campuses and residential neighborhoods.
The policy package, which passed its first board reading with a 4-1 vote, also included a 16,000-acre countywide cap for large-scale solar projects—also defined as projects that encompass more than a half of an acre.
“I would prefer a cap that would be lower and more equally distributed,” said 4th District Supervisor Bob Nelson, who dissented.
Nelson said he’d prefer considering separate caps for North County and South County, rather than a countywide cap.
“I think we’re going to get ‘solar-ed’ over,” Nelson said, referring to North County ag land he fears will be eyed for more projects than South County ag land. “I would prefer the guardrail sooner, but I understand where the board majority is on this. So, we’ll keep moving along.”
During public comment, speakers included Grower-Shipper Association of Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo Counties President Claire Wineman, who asked the board to consider a countywide 8,000-acre cap instead.
“We [support] a cap of 8,000 acres total for the county to support the county’s energy autonomy, without a disproportionate impact to agricultural resources in the communities they support, especially in the Santa Maria and Lompoc valleys,” Wineman said. “We are open to revisiting an increase in the cap in the future if warranted.”
She added that the California Farm Bureau “has historically opposed some solar projects and legislation because of the impacts to prime farmland.”
The Board of Supervisors’ second reading of the policy package is scheduled for Sept. 22.
This article appears in September 10 – September 17, 2026.
