Developers are becoming more interested in building battery energy storage systems (BESS) across Michigan, according to Madeleine Krol, clean energy and land use specialist at the University of Michigan’s Graham Sustainability Institute.
BESS are systems that look like large shipping containers and can store excess energy that’s being generated from, for example, power lines or solar panels when it’s sunny, to be used when needed. They can prevent energy waste and provide “grid resilience,”
Krol said.
“If there's a power outage somewhere, having a battery storage project can help with preventing brown outs,” she said.
One of the developers that is interested in building a BESS is Vesper Energy. They’re at the early stages of developing a 300-megawatt Livingston Energy Storage facility in Otsego County, said EJay Fyke, senior manager of community affairs with Vesper Energy.
The facility is anticipated to be built by 2029, and Fyke said it could be operational for at least 20 years.
The company already has a lease option, and the next step is for the local community to write a zoning ordinance with guidelines to permit the building of this project, Fyke said.
“We're gonna be behind that substation (in Gaylord),” Fyke said. “We're not gonna be intruding, building this big, ugly project or anything like that on a farmland. We're gonna try our best to ensure that we're building a nice project that is not disrupting the landscape as much as possible.”
Krol said there are already a couple of constructed BESS projects in Michigan. They are Consumer's Parkview Battery Project in Kalamazoo and Slocum BESS in Wayne.
For a developer to construct a BESS, Krol said they have to go through multiple steps such as purchasing land from a landowner and receiving permits from local governments to use the land.
Some local governments are already preparing for BESS developers to come. For example, Gratiot County is writing a new zoning ordinance if such a developer becomes interested in building a facility in their community, said Karla Childers with the Gratiot County Planning Commission.
“What we address mainly are the noise levels,” Childers said. “We want to make sure that our residents are protected when it comes to setbacks. So where are these storage systems placed ... We look at fire suppression, we look at safety, security. We also want to be sure that there's some foliage surrounding these things.”
Recently, state officials passed a bill that gives the state the power to approve permits for the construction of new battery systems in Michigan, as WCMU previously reported.
In Gratiot, Childers said the main purpose of the ordinance is to maintain local control. “When developers do want to come in to maybe place one of these systems that they will not be forced to go to state,” she said. “We really hope that we can come to a really great agreement, and so that way we can maintain that local control here for the residents in Gratiot County.”
But Gratiot community members say they’re concerned about the possibility of a BESS facility coming to their county.
Sheila Salmon lives in Gratiot County. She said she’s worried about BESS in Michigan because of how they look, the noise they make and what happens to these systems when they go through their life cycle.
“I would like there to be other options,” she said. “Using our agricultural land to site to these solar farms and battery energy storage systems is very dangerous right now.”
But Salmon’s biggest concern when it comes to BESS is fires caused by battery failures.
“These fires can burn for days, release toxic plumes and require specialized training and equipment for local fire departments,” Salmon said. “A lot of our fire departments simply are not ready for this kind of system for our local communities.”
Krol said fire risk is also the number one concern that she hears local governments have. She said battery fires happen with other things too, such as electric scooters, if a battery becomes damaged or too hot.
“There is a valid risk of fire safety with these systems,” she said. “There has been a lot of improvement of the technology to make these systems safer and safer, but overall, this is still a pretty new technology.”
Krol advises local governments to write in training for firefighters to be prepared to handle these kinds of fires in their ordinances for the BESS developers. A guide for planning and zoning for BESS is available on the University of Michigan website.
At the same time, the main benefit for the community from BESS is economic development, Krol said. That’s because local governments will receive taxes from BESS companies and will become eligible for state grants, she said.
Fyke with Vesper Energy also added the project in Otsego County will bring some temporary jobs during the construction and the company will offer $100,000 annually for local schools and fire department as a part of their Community Benefits Agreements.
Besides the project in Otsego County, there are over 70 other BESS under construction in Michigan that can be found at Midcontinent Independent System Operator, the electric grid operator in the United States.
