Premium

Nebraska capital city officials consider zoning law change after developer Eolian puts forward proposal

LinkedIn
Twitter
Reddit
Facebook
Email

In a move that might offer encouraging signs for the deployment of energy storage in the US Midwest, officials in Nebraska’s capital city, Lincoln, have recommended updates to zoning laws to allow large-scale battery energy storage system (BESS) projects.

Zoning laws in Lancaster County, for which Lincoln is the county seat, do not currently account for BESS technologies. The move to make amendments was brought to the commission by Burlingame, California-headquartered energy storage developer Eolian.

In choosing to potentially allow the zoning of energy storage, authorities have moved in a very different direction to a handful of other jurisdictions who have restricted the deployment of BESS in recent times.

As recently reported by Energy-Storage.news, officials at Harvey County in the Midwestern US State of Kansas chose to enact a lengthy 2.5 year moratorium on BESS.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Enjoy 12 months of exclusive analysis

Not ready to commit yet?
  • Regular insight and analysis of the industry’s biggest developments
  • In-depth interviews with the industry’s leading figures
  • Annual digital subscription to the PV Tech Power journal
  • Discounts on Solar Media’s portfolio of events, in-person and virtual

Or continue reading this article for free

New zoning regulations for BESS

Eolian’s proposal for Lancaster County was outlined during a recent Planning Commission meeting by County Planner George Wesselhoft, who described the deployment of BESS as a “relatively recent land use type.”

As explained in the text amendment proposal, BESS will be permitted in areas zoned for agricultural activity when sited with a substation or paired with solar/wind. Projects must also comply with setback and screening requirements, along with noise limitations, that will vary based on the activities taking place in neighbouring zones.

Developers must also have an emergency action plan approved by Lincoln Bureau of Fire Prevention or Rural Fire District.

Wesselhoft noted that Eolian worked in collaboration with several county departments in finalising its proposed zoning amendments.

In a recent interview with Energy-Storage.news, solar and BESS developer Arevon Energy explained how early community engagement, such as that exhibited by Eolian in this instance, can lead to a smoother and more successful permitting process.

As part of a public consultation in creating the new zoning laws, Wesselhoft stated that local residents raised the potential of battery fires as their primary concern, followed closely by excessive noise.

These county amendments follow on from similar changes to the City of Lincoln’s zoning codes allowing BESS, which were approved by the council earlier in July.

According to Eolian’s zoning change, use permits for BESS in Lancaster County will be granted at the discretion of the planning commission and will be subjected to scrutiny from officials and local residents in the form of public hearings.

‘Other companies also interested in constructing BESS in Lincoln and Lancaster County’

After hearing from Wesselhoft, the commission then heard from David Levy, who is a Partner at law firm Baird Holm, that spoke on behalf of Eolian.

Although the amendment was brought to the commission individually by Eolian, Levy acknowledged that “there are other companies also interested in constructing [BESS] in Lincoln and Lancaster County.”

As public utilities within Nebraska’s Capital City are exempt from zoning, Lincoln Electric System (LES) has already progressed the City’s first BESS almost to commercial operations.

Made up of 3MW/12MWh worth of Eos Energy’s Zinc Z3 battery units, the project was first announced back in 2023 and has been developed in partnership with Wattmore.

In a recent LinkedIn post, Wattmore founder Jonathan Postal stated that the Eos Energy BESS units were “set on helical piers and ready for the next stage of installation and commissioning.”

Elsewhere in the US, Eos announced earlier this year that it would be supplying its Z3 units for a similarly sized microgrid project destined for California in partnership with Faraday Microgrids. The long-duration energy storage (LDES) company just released its financial results, with CEO Joe Mastrangelo claiming that it could be gross margin positive from the beginning of next year after consistently sustaining losses as it works to invest in manufacturing scale and automation.

Residents appealing Planning Commission decision on Panama Energy Center

In response to some public comments regarding the zoning amendment, Levy attempted to distance Eolian’s proposal from another project destined for Lancaster County, which has been subject to much criticism from residents.

“I want to be very clear … this is in no way related to the Panama Energy Center,” stated Levy.

This project, under development by NextEra Energy Resources (NEER), is expected to comprise 300MW solar paired with a 120MW BESS encompassing approximately 1,600 acres of land across Lancaster County.

Although Lancaster’s Planning Commission approved the construction of the facility earlier this year, a group of residents filed an appeal with Lancaster County District Court, asking for the decision to be overturned.

The Planning Commission unanimously approved Eolian’s zoning amendment, which will now move on to the County’s Board of Commissioners for final approval.

The board plans to hold a public meeting to discuss the amendment on 19 August.

Read Next

Premium
October 1, 2025
Local authorities approved 1,237MW/2,474MWh of grid-scale BESS in the UK, the latest data from our monthly roundup shows.
October 1, 2025
Dr Mahdi Behrengrad, head of energy storage at Pacifico Energy, speaks to Energy-Storage.news ahead of next week’s Energy Storage Summit Asia 2025 in Manila.
Premium
September 29, 2025
A recent decision from South Dakota’s Public Utilities Commission (PUC) has highlighted a legal permitting ambiguity in the way energy storage facilities are treated in the Mount Rushmore State. 
Premium
September 25, 2025
Northern California Power Agency (NCPA) has negotiated the terms of an energy storage services agreement (ESSA) with Aypa Power, relating to offtake from a 400MW standalone BESS destined for the County of San Bernardino. 
Premium
September 23, 2025
Capstone-Eurowind 3.2GWh BESS project is the latest to reach the final stage of the California Energy Commission opt-in process.

Most Popular

Email Newsletter