ESCONDIDO — The developer behind a controversial battery energy storage facility proposed for a residential area of unincorporated Escondido has withdrawn the project, following years of pushback from local residents.
AES Corporation, a global energy company focused on developing green energy solutions, submitted plans back in 2023 for the Seguro Energy Storage project on a 22-acre site at 925 Country Club Drive in the Eden Valley community.
San Diego County planning officials confirmed that on March 30, AES Corporation requested to withdraw the Seguro application, and an AES spokesperson for the San Diego region also confirmed that the project will not move forward.
“While AES is no longer moving forward with the proposed Seguro project as we prioritize other projects, we remain committed to advancing projects that can provide the safe, reliable, and affordable power needed to strengthen the region’s electric grid and generate meaningful economic benefits locally,” AES spokesperson Chloe Constant said.
“We thank our local and regional stakeholders who have supported this project and look forward to continued opportunities to partner to drive San Diego County and California’s energy leadership.”
The proposed 320-megawatt battery energy storage system, or BESS, project would have stored energy from renewable sources such as solar and wind, enough to power 240,000 homes for 4 hours. It was planned to connect to the regional power grid via a new onsite substation and underground transmission line.
While BESS facilities are considered an important tool in promoting green energy, many residents in the neighboring areas of Eden Valley, Harmony Grove, and Elfin Forest said this was not the right place for such a large project.
JP Theberge, a Harmony Grove resident who led much of the opposition to Seguro, said thousands of residents shared their concerns via letters and public comments to the county and cities of Escondido and San Marcos. Over 5,000 people have signed a petition opposing Seguro linked at stopseguro.org.
Theberge was encouraged and elated to hear that Seguro was not moving forward.
“It’s a big win,” he said. “At the end of the day, the community worked really hard to state their concerns. We lobbied, we met with everyone we could — [county] supervisors, fire chiefs, fire marshals, hazmat. We met with everyone who would listen.”
A chief concern for neighbors was the risk of lithium-ion batteries catching fire and the potentially harmful health and safety impacts on air quality and chemical runoff.
These fears were heightened by fires at other lithium-iron battery facilities in 2024. A fire at the Gateway Energy Storage Facility in Otay Mesa burned for nearly two weeks in May 2024, followed by a fire at a San Diego Gas & Electric BESS facility in Escondido a few months later that burned for several days.
Seguro’s proximity to Palomar Medical Center in Escondido, located around 1,600 feet away, also raised concerns.
Seguro faced several obstacles that made it challenging for the project to move forward. In 2024, Palomar Health’s board of directors denied AES Corporation’s request for an easement to connect to a substation on the hospital grounds.
The board of directors expressed concern about a potential hazardous materials incident at the project site that could affect hospital operations.
The San Marcos Fire Protection District, which covers the area where Seguro was proposed, also adopted new BESS guidelines last year that would have required the project to shrink.
These included requirements for 100-foot setbacks from lot lines of residential, educational and institutional uses; 10 feet between each storage container; emergency vehicle access roads within 150 feet of all parts of the facility; and on-site water supplies in case of fires.
San Diego County’s fire chief also adopted interim BESS guidelines that required a 100-foot setback.
While Seguro’s proposed site lies just outside the Escondido city limits, the Escondido City Council has also opposed the project. The council passed a resolution opposing BESS facilities within or near city limits and a moratorium on all new BESS projects in the city.
Several BESS projects have been proposed in the unincorporated areas of San Diego County. Officials said they are working with developers to facilitate these projects.
“The County is committed to working with the green energy industry to ensure proposed battery storage projects meet all health and safety requirements, and with the impacted communities to ensure their voices are heard and considered,” said county Land Use and Environment spokesperson Donna Durckel.
Theberge said he knows of families in the area who have moved or are planning to move due to concerns about Seguro. He reiterated that he has no ill will toward the developer and that the project simply does not belong in a residential area.
“Eden Valley is a middle-class community, it’s not a rich community. I feel like they chose this community because they thought they weren’t gonna fight back,” he said.
