Considering moratorium

The county is considering a moratorium on battery storage facilities.

The city is following suit.

Portland Plan Commission agreed Thursday to set a public hearing to consider a moratorium on the facilities.

Pati McLaughlin, assistant director of Jay/Portland Building and Planning, clarified that a moratorium is not permanent. It is designed to give the building and planning department, plan commissions, city council and county commissioners time to consider their options and develop an ordinance to govern such facilities. Once ordinances are approved, moratoriums can be lifted. (Both the county and city are looking at one-year moratoriums.)

McLaughlin explained that a renewable energy firm — NextEra Energy Resources, owner and operator of Bluff Point Wind Energy Center, was later named — has expressed interest in a large-scale battery storage facility. Jay County REMC has also indicated plans for battery storage on a smaller scale.

Battery storage units could also be put in at electrical substations, McLaughlin noted. She shared copies of ordinances for battery storage facilities from White and Starke counties as well as information from the Center for Infrastructure and Economic Development.

Portland Fire Chief Mike Weitzel expressed concern about large-scale commercial facilities, noting that a proposal involved 56 units at 8 feet by 8 feet by 20 feet. He said that if there was a fire at such a facility, the city would not have the manpower to effectively handle it.

Plan commission member Ron Laux, who is retired from Jay County REMC, said it was his understanding that such units are climate controlled and have their own fire suppression systems. Weitzel agreed that is generally the case, but added that he’d like to see such requirements in the county’s ordinance.

McLaughlin identified other details that could be included in an ordinance, such as setbacks from roads, structures and property lines, sizes, regulations and responsibilities. City attorney Wes Schemenaur suggested that a decommissioning agreement be involved, similar to those that have been signed for wind and solar facilities. (Such agreements involve a bond to ensure that there is funding available to remove the equipment once a facility has reached the end of its life.)

It was also noted that battery storage facilities already require approval from the Indiana Department of Homeland Security.

Plan commission member Jerry Alexander asked about how battery storage units would be used by Jay County REMC. Laux said they allow the REMC to purchase power at cheaper rates during off-peak periods and store it for later use.

As the plan commission considered its next step, member Kent McClung asked about where they county is in its process.

Its public hearing will be held at 6 p.m. Thursday, April 10, at Community Resource Center, 118 S. Meridian St., Portland. (McLaughlin said representatives from NextEra and Jay County REMC are planning to attend.) After the public hearing, the county plan commission could vote to recommend a moratorium or take more time to research and discuss the issue. If the plan commission recommends a moratorium, it would then move to Jay County Commissioners for final approval.

“Before we're allowing this to come in, we need to have a moratorium in place," said Jay County Commissioners president Chad Aker, who sits on the city’s plan commission.

“We need time,” said building and planning director John Hemmelgarn. “We could throw something together real quick and in six months say, ‘Ah crap, we need to change this.’ Give us some time.”

Plan commission members Bart Darby, Ashley Hilfiker, Randy Geesaman, Matt Goldsworthy, Alexander, Aker, McClung and Laux, absent Steve McIntosh, unanimously approved scheduling a public hearing on a moratorium.

McLaughlin suggested holding the city’s public hearing on a moratorium at its next scheduled meeting, which would be at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, May 1.

The discussion about battery storage facilities also sparked a question from McClung regarding small-scale nuclear facilities. Indiana Senate Bill 424, which would fund the project development costs of small modular nuclear reactors, was approved late last month and has been sent to the governor for his signature. Senate Bill 423, which would establish as small modular nuclear reactor partnership pilot program, cleared the state senate and has been referred to the House Committee on Utilities, Energy and Telecommunications.