A battle is brewing in south Orange County over a proposed lithium battery storage facility in San Juan Capistrano.
“The initial designs of this project make it look a little like the port of LA and Long Beach in Laguna Niguel with 1100 shipping containers,” said David Raslowsky of Laguna Niguel
Compass Energy Storage is proposing to build a 250-mega watt battery energy storage system (BESS) on 13 acres of land it owned by Saddleback Church.
But in 2022, the city of San Juan Capistrano rejected the renewable company’s application for the project. That’s when Compass Energy Solutions decided to bypass the city’s approval process and go straight the California Energy Commission.
“Unfortunately, there was a law that was passed by the state and it removes local control which means that our cities don’t really have a say in what goes in the land of our cities,” said Mayor Kelly Jennings of Laguna Niguel,
CIty officials and residents aren’t taking it lying down.
In April, San Juan Capistrano city council passed a temporary ban on new commercial battery storage facilities while encouraging residents to write letters to the state energy agency.