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Home My WebLink AboutAGENDA REPORT 2025 0521 CC REG ITEM 09B SUPPLEMENTAL MOORPARK CITY COUNCIL SUPPLEMENTAL AGENDA REPORT TO: Honorable City Council FROM: Doug Spondello, Community Development Director DATE: 05/21/2025 Regular Meeting SUBJECT: Evaluate the Adequacy of Current Zoning Regulations Related to Commercial Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) CORRESPONDENCE RECEIVED Subsequent to the publication of the agenda, the attached correspondence was received from members of the public. With respect to the email communication from Mr. Duck, staff has clarified that this agenda item will consider BESS and not data storage. Attachments: E-mail dated 5/19/2025 from Tom Duck E-mail dated 5/21/2025 from Scott Murtishaw with California Energy Storage Alliance Item: 9.B. SUPPLEMENTAL 1 Douglas Spondello From:Thomas Duck Sent:Monday, May 19, 2025 3:16 PM To:Douglas Spondello Subject:Data Centers Doug, Extremely well-wriƩen Agenda Report regarding the data centers. It’s no wonder that Prologis and Hecate are targeƟng the locaƟons that they have chosen. Both are within a stones throw of the power staƟon on Gabbert. One thing that I may have overlooked in your report was the tremendous electrical demand that these faciliƟes require. We may have the occasional brownouts on hot days, but it will be nothing when these data centers come on board with their power sucking electrical usage! It might be ﬁne to have them somewhere in the desert with minimal populaƟon and industry, but NOT in a populated areas as Moorpark or Ventura County. We have potenƟal over-demand now with various housing developments in process. AddiƟonal MAJOR demand will be required by data centers. "AI data centers power consumpƟon is expected to more than double by the end of the decade”. (InternaƟonal Energy Agency, Wall Street Journal 4/11/25) Small data centers consume as much electricity as 100,000 households. I assume the current Hecate facility is probably equal to that or potenƟally much more. Does anyone know? Who knows about Prologis if it were ever to build on the large A-B properƟes site. Tom Duck Loyola St. Moorpark Doug, could you pease forward this to the City Council. Thank you. ATTACHMENT From:Scott Murtishaw To:Moorpark Cc:City Council & City Manager Subject:Comments on Agenda Item 9.B Date:Wednesday, May 21, 2025 4:03:24 PM Attachments:Moorpark CESA comments on BESS report 05 21 25.pdf Mayor Enegren, Councilmembers, and staff, Please see attached our comments on agenda item 9.B related to battery energy storage systems. Scott Murtishaw Executive Director scott@storagealliance.org (510) 205-7774 www.storagealliance.org CESA | 808 R Street, #209, Sacramento, CA 95811 | 916.231.2150 | www.storagealliance.org May 21, 2025 Mayor Enegren and City Council Members Moorpark Maria City Council Transmitted via Email RE: Item 9.B – Agenda Report on Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) Dear Mayor Enegren and City Council Members: The California Energy Storage Alliance (CESA) is a 501(c)(6) membership-based advocacy group committed to advancing the role of energy storage in the electric power sector. We strive to advance a more affordable, efficient, reliable, safe, and sustainable electric power system for all Californians. CESA supports strong safety measures for BESS to protect the public and first responders. Safety is a key feature of BESS. On behalf of CESA, I would like to respond to some of the characterizations of the risks associated with BESS. California has deployed nearly 16,000 megawatts (MW) of energy storage, including 214 utility-scale facilities and over 250,000 customer-sited residential and commercial systems.1 We understand that recent incidents, including the incident at Moss Landing, raise concerns about BESS safety. Although a few incidents of overheating or thermal runaway have occurred in California since 2021, they have resulted in no injuries. Additionally, no air, water, or soil analyses conducted during or after these incidents have found levels of contaminants exceeding public health thresholds.2 During the Escondido incident, air monitoring detected no toxic gases from samples taken as near as 50 feet from the burning structure. Rob Rezende, a battalion chief for San Diego Fire-Rescue stated that no toxic gases were detected 15 feet from the BESS fire at Otay Mesa. Current BESS technologies are less susceptible to thermal runaway, and projects designed with modular containers of batteries inherently limit the potential severity of fires, if they do occur, to less than one percent of the battery capacity destroyed in the Moss Landing fire.3 When a fire occurs in a container, there is virtually no risk of propagation beyond a single container. This was confirmed by the incidents at Elk Horn and Escondido projects. Containers burn themselves out within hours and require no water for fire suppression. I encourage Moorpark fire department officials to contact the personnel at the North County (Monterey) and Escondido fire departments who have experience responding to fires at projects using a containerized configuration to learn from their experiences. 1 California Energy Commission. California Energy Storage System Survey. Data updated April 3. 2025. https://www.energy.ca.gov/data-reports/energy-almanac/california-electricity-data/california-energy-storage-system- survey 2 California Energy Storage Alliance. Studies of Battery Storage Fires Show No Public Health Impact. https://40108211.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/40108211/safety/CESA%20Fact%20Sheet%202025%20- %20Environmental%20Public%20Health%20-%20ISSUU.pdf 3 California Energy Storage Alliance. Battery Energy Storage Technologies and Safety Standards Are Constantly Improving. https://40108211.fs1.hubspotusercontent- na1.net/hubfs/40108211/safety/Evolution%20of%20BESS%20Tech%20and%20Standards.pdf 2 Energy storage is essential for maintaining a reliable grid. BESS is a crucial piece of the energy mix for California and local jurisdictions to meet their electric reliability and decarbonization goals. The thousands of megawatts (MW) of energy storage deployed since 2020 have played a critical role in preventing g rid emergencies, despite 2024 being the hottest summer in California history.4 However, much more energy storage is needed. Thousands of additional MW of BESS will be necessary in the next few years to meet load growth due to electric vehicles and data centers. The state must retire thousands of MW of nuclear and ocean-cooled gas-fired power plants in the next few years. Energy storage plays a key role in meeting state and local environmental goals. BESS will play a critical role in helping the city’s electricity provider, Central Coast Community Energy, achieve its clean energy goals. The Governor’s Office estimates the state will need 52,000 MW of energy storage by 2045 to accomplish our greenhouse gas mitigation goals , but less than 16,000 MW are currently operational.5 Attaining these goals, which will help mitigate the negative impact of fires, droughts, and floods due to climate change, depends on the aggressive deployment of BESS to store renewable energy for use when customers need it. CESA supports the development of emergency response plans, as established by Senate Bill 38 (Chapters 377, 2023). This law requires BESS owners and operators to work with local jurisdictions to develop comprehensive safety plans. Additionally, the Californ ia Public Utilities Commission recently adopted rules for a BESS inspection program. Together, these requirements ensure that BESS facilities adhere to the highest safety standards and that adequate safety protocols are in place. CESA supports reasonable development standards for BESS and respectfully urges you and Moorpark staff to look at evidence from recent incidents and to learn about development in BESS technology when crafting BESS-related ordinances and regulations. We stand ready to be a technical resource and to work with your staff to provide additional information and resources. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at scott@storagealliance.org. Sincerely, Scott Murtishaw Executive Director, CESA 4 Storrow, Benjamin. “What Heatwave? Batteries Keep the Lights on in California.” E&E News. September 10, 2024. https://www.eenews.net/articles/what-heat-wave-batteries-keep-the-lights-on-in california-2/ 5 California Energy Commission. California Energy Storage System Survey. Data updated April 3. 2025. https://www.energy.ca.gov/data-reports/energy-almanac/california-electricity-data/california-energy-storage-system- survey