Co. Springs homeowner worried about fire dangers from proposed battery facility nearby

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) - A battery storage company is proposing to build a facility near downtown Colorado Springs, but residents, and even planning commissioners are raising concerns about how safe the technology is.

The company, esVolta, is looking to re-zone a property just off of East Las Vegas and Royer Street, over the train tracks, in what is now an excess storage lot for heavy machinery.

On Wednesday, the Colorado Springs Planning Commission voted 6-1 to send the re-zoning effort to Colorado Springs City Council.

"Tava Mountain Battery Energy Storage" would generate 100 MW in power, about half that of what the Drake Power Plant's output used to be. It would stack rows of lithium-ion batteries in closed containers, serving as a power source for Colorado Springs Utilities, should they want to contract with the group.

CSU told KRDO13 however, at the moment they have no plans to purchase power from the storage facility, while esVolta states they're hoping to contract with the utility in several months once the project is developed out more.

The lone 'No' vote from the Planning Commission, came from Jen Cecil, who lives in the area near the proposed property. She expressed doubts about the safety of the batteries, citing a major days-long fire in Monterey County, California, that erupted at the Moss Landing battery facility in January and February of this year.

The blaze forced the evacuation of over 1,500 residents, with people reporting a metallic taste in the air, and a thin film coating vehicles in the area. After the February fire, health officials and experts have been studying the soil composition and how the contents of the air quality and smoke are impacting the environment and health of those nearby.

One person has even filed a lawsuit in the aftermath.

"These people were affected beyond 50 miles from the site because of what went in the air, the toxic poisons and gases and metals and everything." states Joseph Branske, who attended the Planning Commission and echoed the worries stated by Cecil. He lives just a few blocks from the proposed property as well.

"When you're talking about structure fires in an area where the homes are older, sometimes the vegetation gets pretty dry. It could be a quick disappearing act, you know, and that's scary." said Branske, about the closely constructed homes in the nearby neighborhoods, which are upwind from the proposed site.

esVolta provided this statement to KRDO13 on Thursday:

"We understand and value the community’s concern about the safety of Battery Energy Storage Projects (BESS) stemming from recent incidents in other states. Those sites used older technology that the industry has replaced with newer and safer technologies greatly mitigating such risks.  

Strengthening of national codes and advancements in design have significantly improved fire safety and reduced risks. esVolta designs and builds BESS for the long-term, with a commitment to quality and safety day in and day out.​ We work directly with local authorities to ensure safe design and emergency response protocols, in addition to ensuring that our projects are compliant with the latest fire codes from the National Fire Protection Association and Underwriters Laboratories.  

As a container-based design, the proposed Tava Mountain project will incorporate current industry best practices that minimize the potential for fire and fire severity. esVolta commits to operating all its BESS facilities, including Tava Mountain, for their entire life, conducting regular and consistent maintenance and state-of-the-art system health monitoring to provide a safe, reliable source of energy to the local grid.​  

esVolta looks forward to delivering a safe and dependable BESS facility to the community of Colorado Springs that will contribute to grid reliability and reduction of emissions."

Meanwhile, at an unrelated press conference on Thursday, the Colorado Springs Fire Marshal, Kris Cooper, explains that newer technologies, such as what esVolta is suggesting, are safer and less prone to catching fire.

"Those systems come with a lot of safeguards, and we are training our firefighters throughout the community, that we have to look at energy storage systems to make sure that our response is  appropriate for those." Cooper said.

He added that the facilities, which are now being monitored remotely using computers and sensor, instead of human beings, is actually beneficial.

"Those are sealed containers. And so that automatic monitoring inspection within those units provides rapid notification to the control centers that could then dispatch us." Cooper added.