FAIRFIELD -- Battery energy storage centers will be limited to manufacturing and industrial zones in Solano County.
That is if the state Energy Commission doesn't allow something else.
The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday introduced an amended ordinance that restricts where the centers can be located, along with establishing safety standards to which the centers must abide.
Any project that comes forward, of course, will be fully vetted by the planning staff as well. It would also have to clear the county Planning Commission before going to the supervisors.
A key part of the ordinance is that it protects all agriculture lands, and with that, the protection of Measure T, which requires a ballot vote to convert ag lands to other uses.
Supporters are hoping the ordinance and the Measure T umbrella are enough to stop Corby Energy Storage LLC from locating a 300-megawatt battery energy storage system on a 40-acre parcel of agricultural land south of Kilkenny Road and west of Byrnes Road, close to PG&E's Vaca-Dixon Substation.
The substation is an ideal location for the companies because it would take less infrastructure to tie into the grid and move the energy when desired.
While its application to the California Energy Commission has not been determined to be complete, there is a great deal of uncertainty of what will happen down the road.
Corby is a subsidiary of NextEra Energy Resources LLC.
The state Energy Commission, while it has shown a proclivity to consider local standards and even denied a project in Shasta County on similar grounds, is not obligated to do so.
There are actually two projects going through the state commission - and around the county's approval. Neither application is deemed to be complete at this time.
The ordinance also keeps such facilities from high- or very high-fire hazard zones; and they would not be allowed within FEMA-designated floodplains unless raised to at least 2 feet above base flood elevation.
Currently, there are only three areas, representing about 40 parcels, where the centers could be located in the county.
One of those, the Lambie Industrial Park, is only 3 miles from Travis Air Force Base, which has raised its own concerns.
Supervisor Wanda Williams also wanted to make sure that the centers are not built in areas where the closest residences are neighborhoods of color or other disadvantaged community.
She said industry and other potentially dangerous developments are often placed in those proximities.
This version of the ordinance is not the final one. The complete ordinance is expected to come back to the board before the current moratorium expires early next year.