While Allen County’s Planning and Zoning Board is closing in on finalizing regulations for a proposed battery energy storage system (BESS), the potential project itself is on hold. The company behind the proposal, Mission Clean Energy, initially intended to submit an application in mid-March but has since delayed its plans, possibly until 2026.
The proposed facility, a 300-megawatt energy storage site, would be located in the southeast corner of Allen County, nearest to the communities of Savonburg and Elsmore. The $300 million project would span an estimated 15 to 30 acres, according to Terry Call, the county’s zoning administrator.
IN JANUARY, Call sought a moratorium from county commissioners on behalf of the Planning and Zoning Board. The board needed time to update zoning regulations to address this new type of facility. The commissioners approved a 180-day moratorium.
The board has made substantial progress since then, according to Call. It has met twice and reviewed regulations from other BESS proposals across Kansas — including Douglas, Labette, and Johnson counties, as well as the city of Halstead in Harvey County. “I’ve shared all the amendments that they’ve drawn up, plus amendments from eight other states,” Call said.
Call used that data to draft regulations for Allen County’s proposed project. “Basically, I started with the one Alan Weber did for the wind farm and changed the wording to be for this battery energy storage facility,” he explained.
“We discussed each item in it, line by line.” The board fine-tuned the document during a second meeting and now is nearing a final draft ready for recommendation. The board will reconvene on May 22 to finalize and submit it to the commission.
“As soon as everything is approved, the moratorium goes away,” said Call.
THE BOARD’S top priority has been safety, especially fire suppression. A key concern raised during the January meeting was the absence of nearby water lines.
“There are no water lines within 3 to 4 miles of the proposed site location,” Call had said at the time. However, he has since confirmed that Mission Clean Energy would cover the cost of installing water infrastructure, though Call did not say what that could look like.
The lithium-ion battery facility would be made up of roughly 300 self-contained units — each 8 feet by 5 feet and 30 feet long, storing 1 megawatt of energy.
“If one of the containers catches fire, it’s not the whole facility,” Call said. Each unit has its own fire suppression system, and the company would also provide its own response team. Call explained, “It’s a large selection of ex-firefighters that have been to tons of training on these types of fires.”
If a fire occurs, local departments would be responsible for managing fires that spread outside the facility.
“As far as fire suppression, they don’t want the fire department to attempt to put it out if there’s a fire,” said Call. “They’d only want them to deal with anything that gets outside of the compound.”
Fires are a concern.
On Jan. 16, a lithium-ion battery storage facility caught fire in California at its Moss Landing Energy Storage Facility.
The incident led to the evacuation of 1,500 residents, and highlighted the unique challenges posed by lithium-ion battery fires, including the release of toxic gases and the difficulty in extinguishing such fires.
According to industry experts, fire-fighting crews do not actively fight lithium-ion battery fires but allow them to burn out naturally. The fires burn intensely and are difficult to extinguish.
