Botetourt Supervisors send battery storage area to Planning Commission
Screenshot of Board Packet rendering
The Planning Commission will take a look at a proposal for changes to the Comprehensive Plan that would allow for a stand-alone battery energy storage system (BESS) project along Lee Highway (US 11) perpendicular to Simmons Drive.
The Board of Supervisors unanimously agreed to send the project to the Planning Commission with no comments at its April 23, 2023 meeting. The meeting was held at the Botetourt County Administration Center at Greenfield in Amsterdam.
The project comes via SR Investments, Inc, which has asked for the changes in order to establish an Industrial Future Land Use on property currently zoned Business (B-2). The parcel is located next to County Waste and Appalachian Power (AEP), and across from Bailey’s Auto Sales and Berglund Outdoors. Interstate 81 is directly adjacent to the property to the west.
If the changes to the Comprehensive Plan are approved, the applicant would then submit an application for its “Gateway Grid” project.
According to information provided to the Supervisors, this is an energy storage project near the intersection of high-voltage transmission lines. This allows the energy storage facility to provide large amounts of power when load requires it and to serve a broad region. Gateway Grid is proposing a 100MW / 400MWh battery energy storage system and an ancillary new electric substation, to be located on the north side of Lee Highway.
The project is designed to utilize lithium-ion batteries, which will be housed in approximately 144 above ground enclosures. The project site is approximately 49.9 acres in size. Of the 49.9-acre project site, approximately 14 acres will be developed for the BESS and the ancillary project substation.
The proposed energy storage facility would be a fenced, unmanned facility which helps to modulate energy on the grid. The project would also trigger the need for additional AEP interconnection facilities to be constructed on the parcel, which would be owned and controlled by AEP. While most of the facility would not be more than approximately 12 feet tall, certain equipment such as utility poles and lightning masts within the project substation could be as tall as 60 feet.
The facility would pull power off the grid at times of overabundance to store it and would dispatch this power at peak times or whenever needed. Typically, power would be sold in the wholesale energy market or to the local utility
Once operating, energy storage facilities do not generate traffic. They are remotely controlled and monitored 24-7, and individuals would visit the site periodically for routine maintenance. The energy storage facility would not result in any emissions and would not require potable water or sewer service.
The project would go through the Planning Commission for public hearings, and ultimately circle back to the Board of Supervisors for final approval at a future date.
— Anita Firebaugh, Special to The Botetourt Bee
