On Monday, Goleta’s Planning Commission voted to hit pause on a proposal to build a Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) at a site on Viajero Drive operated by Scale Microgrids, LLC, located across Hollister Avenue from Ellwood Mesa.
Despite the project being green lit by Goleta city staff after the proposal passed an initial environmental review, the commission voted to delay the project until a citywide study on appropriate locations for utility-scale battery storage facilities is completed in April of 2027.
The initial study for the proposal found that the Greenbark 30 Battery Energy Storage Project has no significant impact on “biological resources, cultural resources, geology and soils, hazards and hazardous materials, transportation, and noise,” said Goleta Staff Planner Travis Lee…