At public presentations and hearings, many residents of Staunton voiced concerns about possible fire hazards and environmental effects of battery storage included in the proposed solar facility. In response, the developer stated that the battery storage would be removed from the proposal. Indeed, the Project Proposal, as described by the Planning Department's report presented at the June 22, 2023 City Council meeting states:
 

The above is a screen shot, with red underlining added for emphasis, taken from page 88 of the Agenda Package for the June 22, 2023 City Council meeting, which can be accessed HERE.

   
However, the City did not do its due diligence to ensure that the documentation submitted and approved at this Council meeting reflected this supposed change. The same Agenda Package contains the Special Use Permit Application, the Decommissioning Plan, and the Siting Agreement, all of which specify battery storage.

On page 98 of the same Agenda Package, the Special Use Permit Application notes battery storage:

   
And, the Decommissioning Plan not only notes Energy Storage on page 121 of the same Agenda Package...

...it estimates how much it will cost to remove the batteries on page 127 of the very same Agenda Package:

Is it possible that the paperwork for the SUP, dated January 13, 2023, just had not been updated yet?
If so, that would be a sloppy oversight on the part of both the developer and the city.

However, the Siting Agreement (on page 164 in the same Agenda Package) is dated June 2023 and states that the Project "will contain solar facilities and energy storage facilities."

The developer obviously intends --as of June 2023
to include battery storage in the project.
   
The City Council
--either intentionally or inadvertently--
has approved battery storage in the project
despite verbal and written assurances to the public that it would not.

Please Join Us
in our effort to get the truth out
and call for an honest and transparent process
to consider this proposal.

Above: Battery storage fire at utility-scale solar facility in Lyme, New York.
The batteries ignited on Thursday, July 27, 2023 and burned for four days.
See news stories here:

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