Escondido approves BESS work standards, moratorium continues
City sets rules on battery storage facilities workforce standards, but moratorium stays in place until San Diego County sets limits on the number of sites
ESCONDIDO — The City Council adopted new standards for battery energy storage facilities, but its moratorium will continue.
The council unanimously approved several new standards during Wednesday’s meeting amid a highly controversial issue. The council did approve new workforce standards based on recommendations from the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers union, which cements specific certified electricians, among other provisions.
The city will lift its moratorium, which was approved on Oct. 9, 2024, once San Diego County establishes a cap for the number of BESS facilities.
City Planner Veronica Mormomes and Escondido Fire Marshal La Vaona Koretke presented a report to the council detailing steps from the county, state and how the city can align with those entities.
Mayor Dane White, along with Councilman Christian Garcia, said their main concerns were over the siting, or location, of BESS, especially when it comes to residential or healthcare areas. White said since industry professionals couldn’t guarantee the electricity would be used in Escondido, there is no reason to have dozens of BESS in the city.
“How do we address the area of placement?” White asked staff. “There are some areas where we don’t want these.”
As for the workforce standards, Cori Schumacher, the policy director for IBEW Local 569, recommended requirements for all 70-kilowatt-hour BESS projects to include certified electricians on-site from installation to decommissioning; require electricians to hold a C-10 license for all work and require a minimum 15% of onsite electricians to hold a ESAMTAC (Energy Storage and Microgrid Training and Certification), which the council adopted.
She said those are best practices and industry standards for BESS, noting San Diego County will likely pursue those standards in the coming months after a series of incidents. The state is expected to announce its updated fire codes by July, while the county expects to adopt further regulations by January 2025.
The county did adopt new standards for its fire district, which include 100-foot setbacks between project sites and property lines, 10 feet between each battery container, fire and explosion detection and suppression systems, plume modeling and others.
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