A proposal for a large battery energy storage system, or BESS, is advancing in Comstock Township.
The township’s planning commission approved a site permit and special land use plan for a proposed BESS during a September 10 meeting. A BESS is a facility that uses batteries to store energy in an electrical grid to be used for later.
A proposal to build a BESS in Comstock Township was put forth by Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, a Danish investment firm that is backing potential builders Swan Energy Storage LLC and Cygnet Energy Storage LLC.
They propose battery storage that would span nearly 40 acres, with a capacity of around 400 megawatts.
The parcels of land that Swan/Cygnet is seeking to build on are currently zoned for "cluster family housing" under the township's zoning code. Because of this, a special use permit is required to build a BESS without rezoning the parcel.
According to proposal documents, the total developed land area would take up 49.91 acres of the 140-acre parcel. The proposed plan also includes 14-foot high "sound walls" that would surround the facility.
The project has faced opposition from community members who have expressed concerns about the safety of the facility, as well as other factors like sound pollution.
At the meeting, commissioners voted 5-1 in favor of approving a special land use permit for the facility, and voted unanimously in favor of approving site plans.
According to Seth Koches, an attorney for the Township, the approved permits and plans are only one step in a larger review process.
