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

By Ashley Sharp

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 opposition from nearby residents since it was announced.

“The community is frustrated,” said Sarah Dunn, a project opponent.

Opponents say their concerns are not about renewable energy itself, but about where the facility would be built.

“It isn’t about whether or not to have clean energy or not. 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 this. 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.

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

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 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. “It’s very much to hear.”

During Tuesday’s hearing, 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.

“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,” Dunn said.

Among those speaking against the proposed location was Solano County Supervisor Mitch Mashburn.

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

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

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,” 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 Nov. 18 in Sacramento.