ESCONDIDO — The city will keep its moratorium on new battery energy storage facilities as it works to adopt new safety and workforce standards into its municipal code.
On May 7, the City Council voted to incorporate San Diego County’s recommended best practices for battery energy storage systems (BESS) into Escondido’s upcoming 2025 fire code update.
The council also directed staff to include workforce safety standards, requiring certified electricians — including C-10 licensed contractors — for all electrical work, and mandating that at least 15% of workers hold an ESAMTAC certification, a specialized safety credential.
“If we are going to be looking at battery storage in the city, we have to have the highest level of safety,” Councilmember Christian Garcia said.
Council opted not to rescind the urgency ordinance, which was enacted in October 2023 and pauses new BESS projects within city limits. The ordinance remains in effect until Oct. 5, unless repealed sooner, and will stay in place until the added requirements are formally adopted into law.
The county’s guidelines, which are expected to be finalized later this year, include requiring applicants to hire a fire protection engineer to conduct a technical risk study, maintain a minimum 100-foot setback from homes and wildland areas, and implement advanced fire, gas detection and explosion suppression systems. A third-party review of new technology and a hazard mitigation analysis would also be required.
Deputy Fire Marshal Koretke said the proposed rules also restrict the location of BESS projects based on population density and facility size.
In addition to safety measures, the council instructed staff to consider limiting the number of BESS projects in the city. Mayor Dane White, who proposed a BESS cap, questioned the benefit of hosting multiple storage facilities if local residents don’t directly receive the power.
“If we’re not guaranteed any of the power, it doesn’t make sense to have 20 BESS,” White said.
Battery energy storage systems collect and store excess power from sources like solar energy and release it back to the grid when needed.
Greg Wade, CEO of the Clean Energy Alliance, which serves Escondido and other North County cities, said BESS plays a “vital role” in the region’s renewable energy future.
“Battery storage has to be part of our future,” Wade said.
Concerns over BESS safety have grown following high-profile incidents, including a January fire at the Moss Landing facility in Monterey County that led to the evacuation of more than 1,200 people.
In Escondido, a September 2023 fire at a San Diego Gas & Electric battery facility forced evacuations and school closures, prompting air quality concerns.
A week before that fire, the Escondido City Council passed a resolution opposing large-scale BESS facilities in or near the city in response to the proposed Seguro project by AES Corporation. The project, planned for Eden Valley just outside Escondido city limits, would store 320 megawatts of energy — enough to power 240,000 homes for four hours — and connect to the regional grid via a new substation and transmission line.
Residents of Eden Valley, Harmony Grove, Elfin Forest, Escondido and San Marcos have strongly opposed the project. In March, San Marcos adopted its own BESS guidelines.
Wade noted the SDG&E battery fire “performed as it should,” containing the incident to one of 24 canisters on site.
“We are confident that the industry is moving in a direction that provides for public safety as well as vital energy storage needs,” he said.
