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Neermoor, Germany BESS, Intilion LFP batteries 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.
JOIN US!
"Unpacking Battery Safety..." – Transition, January 9, 2025
"Unpacking Battery Safety..." – Transition, January 9, 2025
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT THE FIRST PROPOSED BESS PROJECT?
The location raises serious concerns about the safety and environmental impact of the project.
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.
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 for the installation of three lithium battery energy storage (BESS) facilities on parcels of 10-20 acres next to the Paul Sweet, Rob Roy and Green Valley transmission substations. The proposed BESS locations are –
behind Dominican Hospital on Houts Drive
on Freedom Boulevard across from Aptos High School
at 90 Minto Road next to College Lake — 500 feet from the Diamond Estates neighborhood and
750 feet away from the Schapiro Knolls affordable housing complex
WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT THE BESS/ ENERGY STORAGE (ES) COMBINING DISTRICT ORDINANCE?
There is lack of transparency from the County. Since the initial ordinance draft was approved "in concept" by the Board of Supervisors on October 29, 2024, the County has not shared anything about any further development of the BESS Ordinance.
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The County has created a very incomplete draft of an ordinance for a new type of zoning specifically for BESS installations on unincorporated county land of 10-20 acres adjacent to existing transmission stations.
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The County's initial draft of the Energy Storage (ES) Combining District Ordinance (October 29, 2024) is not finalized, and a final version has neither been approved nor adopted by the Board of Supervisors.
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Instead, the Board approved "in concept" the incomplete draft of the ES Combining District Ordinance on October 29, 2024 — and directed the Planning Department and other county staff to complete a final version.
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Then, on December 17, 2024, the County accepted an application to install the industrial-scale, 200 MW 800 MWh BESS at 90 Minto Road from Sequoia Energy Storage 1, LLC and New Leaf Energy — the Lowell, Massachusetts based renewable energy developer, whose parent company Energy Capital Partners (ECP) is headquartered in Summit New Jersey.
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To date, the draft Energy Storage (ES) Combining District Ordinance is proposing to rezone the county for the installation of three lithium battery energy storage (BESS) facilities on parcels of 10-20 acres next to the Paul Sweet, Rob Roy and Green Valley transmission substations. The proposed BESS locations are –
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.
To date, the County Supervisors and County Planning have rebuffed all requests from the public to provide transparent information on the ongoing Ordinance drafting process. The only publicly available information on the Ordinance development are the two postponements of the final review: the first postponement to April 29 and the second to September 9 of 2025.
behind Dominican Hospital on Houts Drive
on Freedom Boulevard across from Aptos High School
at 90 Minto Road next to College Lake — 500 feet from the Diamond Estates neighborhood and
750 feet away from the Schapiro Knolls affordable housing complex
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:
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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. 2nd Gen LFP batteries are more flammable, more explosive and more toxic.
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Toxic Fumes and Fallout: Battery fires release harmful chemicals, including highly toxic hydrogen fluoride gas, potentially jeopardizing air quality and public health.
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Environmental Risks: Potential soil and groundwater contamination from battery waste.
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Dangerously Near Residents: The proximity to schools, neighborhoods, farms and wildlife habitats potentially endangers families, farms and ecosystems.
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Noise Pollution: Lengthy construction and ongoing / constant equipment operation, including 24/7 noisy HVAC systems.
Thuringia, Germany BESS Suncycle Storage August 11, 2024. Three fires in the facility within two months. Image: Johannes Krey/https://ww.jkftv.de