Morro Bay blocks new battery plant permits for almost 2 years. Here’s what it means
With memories of the Moss Landing battery plant fires fresh in people’s minds, the Morro Bay City Council voted unanimously on Tuesday to extend an urgency ordinance that pauses the city’s ability to process new battery plant development permits.
The permitting pause gives the city time to develop research-based permanent development requirements for battery plants built in the community, including safety measures, emergency planning and rules about where the facilities could be located, Morro Bay community development director Airlin Singewald said.
“This is a really great step forward,” Councilmember Zara Landrum said. “Morro Bay is going to be a leader in our county for this kind of an ordinance.”
The council passed the original 45-day urgency ordinance on Jan. 28.
With the extension, the ordinance will expire on Jan. 28, 2027 — two years after it was first implemented.
The staff report said that battery energy storage systems are a safety risk to the public, citing the Moss Landing fires as evidence of the threat.
“Grid-scale battery projects do present potential public health and safety concerns, particularly related to fire and explosion and resulting impacts to the environment and economy,” Singewald said at the meeting. “Those concerns were magnified by the recent fires in Moss Landing.”
Texas-based energy company Vistra Corp. applied to the city in 2020 to build a 600-megawatt battery storage facility on the retired Morro Bay Power Plant site — sparking local fears about the property’s proximity to homes and Morro Bay High School.
Barry Branin, a leader of the community group Morro Bay Citizens for Estero Bay Preservation, held up a “No batteries by the bay” yard sign, which the group passed out to their neighbors two years ago to discourage Vistra from pursuing the project.
Branin said he supports the city’s urgency ordinance, and he also hopes the county pursues a similar ban.
“If they put a battery storage thing up behind Cayucos ... we’d be in trouble,” he said, adding that northeastern winds would push smoke and fumes from the fire toward Morro Bay.
Vistra paused its application with the city in October and announced plans to apply to the California Energy Commission for approval. As of Tuesday, Vistra had not yet applied to the commission, according to an agency spokesperson.
Next steps for Morro Bay
When it comes to a permanent ordinance, the City Council could either pass an outright ban on battery plants or create development guidelines for such facilities.
At a January City Council meeting, Singewald warned that a total ban would push developers to apply to the California Energy Commission for project approval. AB 205 allows developers to bypass local zoning laws and seek the OK from the commission for large renewable energy projects.
He advised the council to instead set development guidelines for battery plants to coax developers to negotiate with the city.
Still, people are watching and waiting to find out how the AB 205 process really works.
The commission has received eight applications for the AB 205 certification process, but only the Darden Clean Energy battery plant application for Fresno County was deemed complete and is being considered.
The commission is still reviewing the other seven applications, Singewald said.
The city’s development standards could require companies to get a conditional use permit to build a battery plant, identify zoning districts where battery plants are allowed, establish setback requirements from residential areas and set safety standards, he said.
City staff will return to the council in two to three months with ideas for a permanent ordinance.
Other local governments also paused permitting for battery plants in their jurisdictions, Singewald said.
The Solano County Board of Supervisors and the Vacaville City Council passed two-year urgency ordinances like Morro Bay’s on March 14, 2024, and Jan. 28, respectively. Both localities created working groups to develop permanent ordinances that will regulate permitting for battery plants, Singewald said.
The Orange County Board of Supervisors passed a 45-day battery plant permit ban on Jan. 25, and the San Juan Capistrano City Council passed a one-year ban on April 2, 2024, he said.
“It’s good to know that we’re not the only ones,” Councilmember Cyndee Edwards said.
