Scott Hansen, vice president of forward planning for KB Home, points to a battery display panel on a SunPower SunVault storage system inside the garage of a model home during a tour of KB Home microgrid communities in Menifee on Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2022. The Oak Shade and Durango communities will feature all-electric homes equipped with solar panels and batteries. Rowley is a former vice president for Sempra U.S.
AES has dubbed its proposed mega-project “Seguro,” which is Spanish for “safe,” but it’s clearly not. Atchance of a significant battery fire each year. The proposed site, located in San Diego County immediately west of Escondido, is surrounded by existing homes — right up to the fence line on all four sides. The Palomar Medical Center is justWe rely on technology, and we assume that it won’t hurt us. At the right location, a large-scale battery installation can fulfill that expectation.
The county currently has no land-use regulations governing the emerging battery energy storage industry. The shockingly ridiculous AES proposal makes it painfully obvious that battery installation developers need land-use regulations to guide their site selections. I urge the county to develop the needed land-use regulations as soon as possible. Battery installation proposals are coming fast.