In a surprising move, the North American development arm of Engie has asked the California Energy Commission (CEC) to pause the review of its Compass Energy Storage project destined for Orange County, in order to assess alternative development sites.
The request from Engie comes just weeks before a final decision was expected from the CEC, which has been assessing the project over the past eight months as part of its opt-in certification programme.
Engie North America’s Director of Permitting and Planning, Renée Louise Robin, filed a letter with the state regulator on 22 December, outlining the reasoning behind the request.
The company provided a statement to Energy-Storage.news Premium confirming the pause, which you can read in full at the bottom of this article.
Try Premium for just $1
- Full premium access for the first month at only $1
- Converts to an annual rate after 30 days unless cancelled
- Cancel anytime during the trial period
Premium Benefits
- Expert industry analysis and interviews
- Digital access to PV Tech Power journal
- Exclusive event discounts
Or get the full Premium subscription right away
Or continue reading this article for free
Series of events leading to pause
The project has encountered heavy opposition from local residents of the City of San Juan Capistrano and the wider Orange County area since it was first introduced back in September 2022, when previous owner Broad Reach Power (BRP) submitted a rezoning request to city officials.
This request, which could have led to the issuance of a conditional use permit (CUP), was ultimately rejected by officials and then withdrawn in February 2024. It was Engie that withdrew this application, following its acquisition of BRP and all of its assets in 2023.
Shortly after the withdrawal, Engie filed an opt-in application with the CEC, which angered opponents of the project who accused the company of attempting to sidestep local opinion by attempting to obtain a more favourable outcome via the state approval process.
The CEC commenced its review of the project in May 2025 after deeming Engie’s application to be complete, which triggered a 270-day countdown to approve or deny the proposal.
As reported by Energy-Storage.news, the project has continued to draw huge criticism from the public, with one recent information meeting hearing from over 160 individuals who spoke collectively for over five hours. The concerns raised by residents are centred on the project’s location, which its opponents claim is problematic due to the surrounding area’s wildfire risk.
The CEC’s online docket for the project has continued to receive comments from the public, with the total having grown to almost 2,000, with most of these in opposition.
Although a decision from the regulator was expected on 25 January 2026, Engie’s recent request throws this timeline into doubt.
Pause request
Engie’s 22 December request will have come as an early Christmas present for some, with the developer asking the regulator to “suspend processing” of its application to allow for sufficient time to assess alternative sites.
Although Engie didn’t justify its request with much detail, it cited changes to resource adequacy (RA) and market changes as a reason.
As permitted under Assembly Bill (AB) 205, the CEC has “significant authority” to extend the 270-day timeline for numerous reasons, including significant changes being made to the project, new information coming to light, or simply at the request of the applicant.
“This request is being made at this time because certain commercial aspects about the current site have influenced the economic viability of the project,” said Engie in its recent letter to the CEC.
Instead of starting from scratch, Engie said that it was working to find an alternative location using its existing transmission position.
With Engie’s being one of the first projects to have reached this final stage of the opt-in certification process, it’s unclear how the CEC will treat this request. Additionally, the length of the extension is up to the discretion of the energy regulator.
See Engie’s full statement from a spokesperson below:
ENGIE is pausing the Compass Energy Storage Project application with the California Energy Commission.
This decision is being made because certain commercial aspects about the current site along with market changes have influenced the economic viability of the Project, requiring us to re-evaluate the location. We will renew efforts to identify an alternative location to implement our existing transmission position, including by evaluating whether conditions have changed at alternative sites that would render one or more viable for the Project.
We are grateful to the CEC and its “Opt-In” program staff for their diligent efforts to date, the local partnerships we have formed during this process, and the community participation throughout the Project’s development.
While this specific Project is on hold as we evaluate siting options, ENGIE remains committed to working with the City of San Juan Capistrano, Orange County, other local jurisdictions across California, and the CEC to advance clean, reliable, affordable, and safe electricity solutions.
Currently, ENGIE has more than 20 utility scale battery storage projects and over 6.25 gigawatts of solar and storage projects in active development within California. In addition, we have 250 megawatts of standalone BESS in operation or construction. These projects support California’s long-term goal of deploying over 45 gigawatts of energy storage by 2045. We develop, build, and operate our projects with a long-term view and accountability to our partners and will do everything possible to find a solution for the Compass project in an effort to deliver on the many advantages it would bring.
