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.
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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.
