Avoiding disaster: Santa Maria aims for de facto moratorium on new battery energy storage facilities

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Santa Maria aims to keep battery energy storage system (BESS) projects out of the city with a new set of rules still waiting for final approval.

The overlap between specific industrial areas where BESS facilities are allowed and spaces near residential or agricultural uses where they will be banned will make the city’s sign-off impossible, based on the proposed ordinance, Community Development Director Chenin Dow explained.

Jurisdictions across the state are looking at similar approaches to reform their BESS policies following the aftermath of Monterey County’s battery plant fire in January at Moss Landing, Dow said.

“We’re certainly not alone in that regard,” Dow told the Sun. “Our highest priority is the safety of our residents.”

The policy’s goal is to address citizens’ concerns about the threat of a potential BESS fire in the future, Dow said. The policy also aims to prevent the health and enviornmental consequences tied to the Moss Landing incident in recent studies, such as side effects related to heavy metal exposure.

“We want to make sure that doesn’t happen here in Santa Maria,” Dow said. “That’s our primary motivator.”

Staff introduced the BESS ordinance to the City Council at its April 15 meeting. It passed 5-0 and is currently awaiting a second hearing for the council’s final approval.

Whether or not the policy gets adopted, the future of a proposed BESS facility for a 1-acre site on Industrial Parkway—which has already received a permit approval—has yet to be determined, according to city staff. The Santa Maria Planning Commission approved the project in 2022.

In similar cases, the city’s revised regulations couldn’t be enforced on a project retroactively, Dow said.

“Generally speaking, if something’s entitled and then a rule is put in place and they’re still in compliance with their original entitlement, it would go forward,” Dow said. “But if their terms were to expire, or things like that, it would just be different depending on that scenario. … We’ll evaluate that when the time does arise.”

Santa Maria Principal Planner Frank Albro told the Sun via email that the project’s permit expires on Aug. 3, and the applicant, Renewable Properties, has already submitted a request for a time extension.

“As far as how this relates to the new ordinance, that’s something we’re still going to need to analyze and figure out,” Albro said. “That time extension will be coming to a future Planning Commission hearing.”

The Sun reached out to Renewable Properties, headquartered in San Francisco, but did not receive a response before press time.

At an August 2022 Planning Commission meeting, Renewable Properties permitting manager Brian Madigan told commissioners what makes a project site ideal for a BESS development.

“Generally we look for sites that are flat, free of flood zones, clear of any wetlands, biological resources, and have access to the grid, as well as road infrastructure or vehicular access,” Madigan said about the vacant land at 2916 Industrial Parkway. “This particular site suits all of those needs.”

The parcel is less than half a mile away from a PG&E substation at 2664 Industrial Parkway.

At the City Council’s April 15 meeting, PG&E representative Eric Daniels asked elected officials and staff to table the BESS ordinance until new state and federal directives come forward.

“The limited nature of the ordinance seems as written to almost assure denial of any application,” Daniels said. “We support the public safety goals that motivate this ordinance. Legislation, however, in Sacramento is currently being considered to enhance safety requirements by incorporating National Fire Protection Association 855 standards for BESS installations.”

Daniels asked staff to preview state Senate Bill 283, drafted to require BESS developers to consult with local fire authorities on project applications, and described some aspects of the Santa Maria ordinance as “more politically reactive than based on actual science.”

“Battery storage enables—as staff already said—the integration of renewable energy resources, enabling grid stability, and offers cost savings to customers,” Daniels said. “If we as a society truly want a greener grid, the incorporation of battery systems facilities will be necessary.”

At the meeting, Mayor Alice Patino said she wasn’t concerned about revisiting BESS rules in the future because of how often the state requires policy reform in general.

“We do that regularly anyway,” Patino said. “Every year we go through different changes in our ordinances because the state has passed different things.”

While state protocols on BESS projects evolve, Community Development Director Dow described the city’s current proposed policy as a safeguard in the interim.

“As new information becomes available, we’ll evaluate that when it’s available at the appropriate time. For now, we want to make sure everyone is protected and everyone is safe. That is goal No. 1,” Dow told the Sun. “We’re certainly no stranger to having to adapt based on the new information that comes from Sacramento, and we’ll be prepared to do that if that becomes necessary here.”

Even without a state mandate, there may be room for future BESS developments in Santa Maria that meet the ordinance’s strict requirements—if a planned annexation leads to additional industrial areas in the city, Dow explained.

“We are looking to annex shy of 1,000 acres on the northeast side of the city, and that would really be the future growth zone for the city of Santa Maria,” Dow said “We are largely built-out in our current city limits. So the goal is to accommodate that growth.”

Staff is now compiling comments from the public about the proposed annexation, collected during a recent outreach campaign, Dow added.

“We’re currently finalizing the policy frameworks and working with our consultants on that,” Dow said. “We are looking to have that plan admitted by December of this year.”

Senior Staff Writer Caleb Wiseblood can be reached at cwiseblood@santamariasun.com.

This article appears in Apr 24 – May 4, 2025.