The Threat | STOP Lithium BESS in Santa Cruz County

Neermoor BESS LFP Intilion Fire April 27 2024 CROPPED THIS.png

Neermoor, Germany BESS, Intilion LFP battery fire April 27, 2024.

Photo of lake by Corey Austin, Pinterest.

PROPOSED PROJECT

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

Protecting our community requires informed and collective action. Here's how you can help —

Stay Informed: Learn about the county's BESS plans. Learn about the first proposed BESS at 90 Minto Road and its potential impacts.

Speak Up: Share your concerns with city officials and decision-makers.

Get Involved: Join STOP Lithium BESS in Santa Cruz County's efforts to advocate for responsible and safe solutions.

GET INVOLVED

JOIN US!

"Unpacking Battery Safety..." – Transition, January 9, 2025

WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT THE COUNTY'S LITHIUM BATTERY ENERGY STORAGE (BESS) PLANS?

The County Board of Supervisors is proposing to rezone the county to create two sites for the installation of lithium battery energy storage (BESS) facilities on parcels of 10-20 acres next to the Rob Roy and Green Valley transmission substations. The proposed BESS locations are –

on Freedom Boulevard across from Aptos High School

at 90 Minto Road adjacent to College Lake — the site for New Leaf Energy's proposed 200 MW lithium BESS, which is already in permitting and approved by the Board of Supervisors for a shortcut, partial environmental review — 500 feet from the Diamond Estates neighborhood and 750 feet away from the Schapiro Knolls affordable housing complex

WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT THE FIRST PROPOSED BESS PROJECT?

The location raises serious concerns about the safety and environmental impact of the project.

Google Aerial View of 90 Minto Road Project with Blue Outline for Site.png

The 90 Minto Road BESS is planned for a 14 to 16-acre site equivalent to 10-12 football fields on an existing apple orchard 500 feet from the Diamond Estates neighborhood and 750 feet from the Schapiro Knolls affordable housing complex.

The location is also near multiple schools, farms and businesses.

Google Aerial View 9 Schools in 2 Mile Radius ARROWS CROPPED THIS.tiff

9 schools are within a 2-mile radius of the proposed industrial-scale, 200 MW 800 MWh BESS with flammable and explosive lithium-ion (LFP) batteries in 250-300 20' long shipping containers on acres of concrete.

Amesti Elementary School is less than one mile away.

Current fire and first responder ingress/egress to the proposed site is Minto Road, a very narrow road, which narrows to one lane in sections. Meidl Avenue, Celia Drive, Hastings Lane, and Paulson, Dick Phelps and Behler Roads, the other evacuation routes for this dense neighborhood, are also narrow roads.

Google Aerial View 90 Minto Road Project and SC Fairgrounds Distance.png

The county's official evacuation site, the county fairgrounds, is less than 1.5 miles as the crow flies or winds blow from the proposed site.

Green Valley Road, the route to the evacuation zone at the fairgrounds, is a two-lane road, lined by dense housing developments.

Google Aerial View Organic Farms on a 3 Mile Radius CROPPED.png

The proposed site is surrounded by multiple farms, many of them organic.

The site is 500 feet uphill from College Lake and its Integrated Water Resources Management Project that supplies irrigation to Pajaro Valley farms. The site is also surrounded by the Interlaken riparian and wetlands ecosystem, which also serves as a key watershed area for the Pajaro River, and is in the migratory corridor of the Pacific Flyway.

The facility's flammable and explosive lithium-ion (LFP) batteries are proposed for a parcel that intersects with an active fault line, the Vergeles-Zayante fault.

It is closely surrounded to the north, east and west by high fire risk WUI (Wildland Urban Interface) land. Between 2008 and the present, three major wildland fires burned approximately 10 miles from the proposed site: the Summit Fire in 2008, the Croy Fire in 2014 and the CZU Complex Fire in 2020.

HOW CLOSE TO HOMES IS THE PROPOSED BESS AT 90 MINTO ROAD?

The 90 Minto Road BESS is adjacent to the Green Valley substation, which is visible in the photos right next to homes. The proposed BESS site is to the left of the tower visible in the 2nd photo in the top row.

WHY IS THIS A CONCERN?

While lithium -based BESS facilities aim to store renewable energy efficiently, their risks and impacts cannot be ignored, especially in densely populated areas like ours.

Key Concerns:

Fire Hazards: Lithium -based BESS systems have a history of high-temperature fires that can spread rapidly and cannot be suppressed by existing conventional fire fighting techniques. They are most often left to burn themselves out and can burn for days. The foam proposed by New Leaf Energy is a toxic contaminant. Although 2nd Gen LFP batteries are marginally more stable, when in thermal runaway, they are more explosive and more toxic, producing more of the highly poisonous hydrogen fluoride (HF) gas.
There have been 13 LFP fires since 2019 , as documented by the industry-tied EPRI (Electrical Power Research Institute) and industry product spec sheets.
Toxic Fumes and Fallout: Battery fires release harmful chemicals, including highly toxic hydrogen fluoride (HF) gas, potentially jeopardizing air quality and public health.
Environmental Risks: Potential soil and groundwater contamination from battery waste.
Dangerously Near Residents: The proximity to schools, neighborhoods, farms and wildlife habitats potentially endangers families, farms and ecosystems.
Noise Pollution: Lengthy construction and ongoing / constant equipment operation, including 24/7, 80-90 decibel HVAC systems.

Thuringia Suncycle Research and Storage August 11 2024.jpg

Thuringia, Germany BESS Suncycle Storage August 11, 2024. Three fires in the facility within two months. Image: Johannes Krey/https://ww.jkftv.de

WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT THE BESS/ ENERGY STORAGE (ES) COMBINING DISTRICT ORDINANCE?

There is lack of transparency from the County. After the initial Draft Ordinance was approved "in concept" by the Board of Supervisors on October 29, 2024, the County did not share anything about any further development of the BESS Ordinance for an entire year, until the first and only Town Hall on county BESS development on October 27, 2025. At that Town Hall, the county released partial information on a simplified slide show. The Draft BESS Ordinance was finally published for public review one week prior to the planned Board of Supervisors' November 18, 2025 vote to approve the start of environmental review on it. The Board of Supervisors voted instead to postpone that vote to their second meeting in March in order to add regulatory standards and compliance measures missing from the Draft Ordinance. However, within 24 hours, pressure from the developer resulted in rescheduling that postponement to January 13, 2026. On January 13, the Board of Supervisors voted to direct County Planning to start environmental review on both the Draft BESS Ordinance and New Leaf Energy's proposed 200 MW 800 MWh lithium BESS facility at 90 Minto Road simultaneously under one short-cut, partial 'supplementary' Environmental Impact Report (EIR).

The Draft BESS Ordinance in its current form is missing over 30 safety standards and compliance measures needed to protect the public and presents a current and immediate threat to the public's safety and welfare.
It is critically important for us to send written comments to the County Board of Supervisors and Planning Department on the flaws and ommissions in both the Draft BESS Ordinance and New Leaf Energy's proposed lithium BESS project at 90 Minto Road.

This Draft BESS Ordinance is in CEQA (CA Environmental Quality Act) environmental review. The County is conducting an inadequate environmental review. Instead of a full Environmental Impact Report (EIR), they are preparing a short-cut, partial Supplemental EIR (SEIR), they claim in order to save money. In fact, New Leaf Energy is paying for the environmental review, so it is the developer who is "saving money" at the expense of public safety and health.

The County is also preparing a single, simultaneous Supplemental EIR on both the Draft BESS Ordinance and New Leaf Energy's proposed lithium BESS at 90 Minto Road, instead of requiring the developer to complete a separate, full EIR on their project.

The County's first action in their environmental review was to cut the public's voice out of the process. Namely, they canceled the CEQA mandated Notice of Preparation (NOP) that signals the start of the review and also the 30-day scoping period with public comment for New Leaf Energy's Initial Study, the first step in lawful CEQA review.

The County has stated that they will not use New Leaf Energy's Initial Study in the environmental review, but that they will use it to help eliminate "unnecessary" review areas.

Having denied the public their right to participate in the scoping stage of the environmental review, which is when the public can comment on which areas of the EIR need to be reviewed, the County then announced that Environmental Justice issues will not be part of the review.

The County's current Draft Energy Storage (ES) Combining District (BESS) Ordinance is not finalized, and a final version can only be approved and adopted by the Board of Supervisors after the Supplemental EIR for the Draft BESS Ordinance is approved.

Before the Board of Supervisors approves the Supplemental EIR, there will be two meetings where the public can comment — one with the Agricultural Policy Advisory Commission (APAC) and the other with County Planning — as well as a 30-day public comment period after the completed Supplemental EIR is published.

The Board of Supervisors cannot act on New Leaf Energy's proposed lithium BESS at 90 Minto Road or issue any permits for it until the Draft BESS Ordinance is approved.

Please note that the County accepted New Leaf Energy's BESS application on December 17, 2024 without an approved BESS Ordinance in County code — and five days after the only community meeting the developer has ever held. New Leaf Energy's meeting on December 12, 2024 was attended by less than two dozen local residents following the developer's mailing efforts to a minimal number of residents involving an invitation card missing the time of the meeting.

To date, the draft Energy Storage (ES) Combining District (BESS) Ordinance is proposing to rezone the county to create two sites for the installation of lithium battery energy storage (BESS) facilities on parcels of 10-20 acres next to the Rob Roy and Green Valley transmission substations. The proposed BESS locations are –

on Freedom Boulevard across from Aptos High School

at 90 Minto Road adjacent to College Lake — the site for New Leaf Energy's proposed 200 MW lithium BESS, which is already in permitting and approved by the Board of Supervisors for a shortcut, partial environmental review — 500 feet from the Diamond Estates neighborhood and 750 feet away from the Schapiro Knolls affordable housing complex

The County is compelled by California's Planning and Zoning Law and by CEQA to give due consideration to all proposed land use entitlements, and particularly to those projects which, like BESS, pose unique and significant hazards to the areas where they are located. The County is mandated by law to account for the risks of the proposed BESS land use and to develop a prudent BESS Ordinance that fits the circumstances within its jurisdiction.