JILL SCHRAMM/MDN Dalton Pearson, project manager with NextEra Energy Resources, speaks to the Ward County Commission about a proposed ordinance for battery energy storage systems on Tuesday, June 2.

Ward County commissioners forged ahead with an ordinance governing siting of battery energy storage systems on Tuesday, June 2, even though the industry’s proposed language tweaks remain to be dealt with.

The commission debated sending the proposed ordinance back to the planning commission and considered imposing a moratorium on applications until the ordinance is completed. Instead, the majority voted to proceed with first reading of the planning commission’s recommended ordinance, revisiting industry proposals at the public hearing and second reading in July.

Although battery energy storage systems haven’t generated quite the same level of controversy as data centers, opposition has been increasing. The systems store electricity from renewables or excess energy on the electrical grid to be released as needed. Ward County has not received any applications from companies interested in siting a system, but the North Dakota Public Service Commission has approved site compatibility certificates for NextEra Energy Resources projects in Emmons and Burke counties.

Ward County Commissioner Jason Olson voiced concern about how long the county would have to continue without a policy if an ordinance is delayed to review changes proposed by NextEra Energy Resources. He supported approving an ordinance and revising it later if needed.

Commissioner Miranda Schuler pushed for a moratorium in the meantime.

“We need to slow this down,” said Schuler, whose motion to do so failed 1-4.

The commission approved the ordinance on first reading 4-1, with Schuler dissenting.

Dalton Pearson, project manager with NextEra, later spoke about his company’s proposed changes, including fire response.

“Typically, batteries are designed to where they can control the incident happening at the time and self-extinguish,” he said. “Typically the response we recommend with emergency management staff and fire departments is more focused on containment.”

NextEra also asked for setbacks to be based on distance between a residence or sensitive property and the battery system rather than property lines, which can increase that distance. It suggested voluntary waivers by participating landowners on setbacks and noise mitigation requirements and deference to state rules in certain areas.

The Ward County Planning Commission initially drafted the ordinance with a 1 mile setback provision but reduced the distance to a half mile, which is the distance in Burke County’s ordinance. Commission Chairman John Fjeldahl indicated the reduced setback might require another look.

Resident Brian Lee objected to NextEra’s tendency to bring up issues after public meetings, such as bringing new items to the county commission after the planning commission’s hearing process has ended.

“They know what they’re doing. They do this all over the country,” he said. “These companies try to hide as much as possible, and then the residents get affected by an ordinance that has been changed and they’ve had no say in that.”