Neighbors rally against proposed battery storage facility

Jul 17, 2023

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VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — A battery energy storage facility could be coming to Virginia Beach, right in the middle of a historic residential neighborhood.

Neighbors there are fighting back, telling the company to take this project somewhere else.

Generations of people have built their lives on this quiet street, like Pastor William Cornick.

"I was born and raised on Beautiful Street," he said. "My father built our home in 1952."

But pretty soon, Beautiful Street may not live up to its name.

At least, that’s the worry of the people who live in the Seatack area of Virginia Beach.

The reason? A proposal by American Power Ventures to build a battery energy storage facility right behind their homes.

Seatack Civic League President Tammie Mullins-Rice said American Power Ventures presented their proposal to neighbors back in November.

"They came out, they made the presentation and the neighbors told them emphatically, 'No. We do not want this,'" she said.

She said they have a number of concerns with a battery storage facility right in their backyards.

"It was about the safety of the environment, for the future, for the property values of our homes," Mullins-Rice said.

According to the Civic League, Seatack is the oldest African American community in the United States. There were only 13 states in the United States when Seatack was settled.

"Why were you trying to put this here in this historic neighborhood?" Mullins-Rice said.

She cited a study by the National Fire Protection Association that says between 2010 and 2019, there were over 3,500 fires involving energy storage systems.

Mullins-Rice also cited a report published by The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that highlights how battery energy storage systems can release harmful chemicals into the air during accidents or malfunctions.

It's something that concerns Cornick.

"We don’t know what the future holds in terms of what they may find out 10 years later concerning what was leaked in the atmosphere. That’s my concern," he said. "I question the safety of it. Not just because of who we are right now, but generations to come."

He said he came home one afternoon to find engineers from the project behind his house since his property is only 100 feet away.

"It made it surreal just how close it is in proximity," he said.

Jeffrey Quail has lived on Beautiful Street for the last 10 years and he has similar concerns, not only for their safety but also keeping the charm and peace of the neighborhood.

"Given the proximity of it to my house, not excited about it at all," he said. "I think you have to look at Seatack... it is a pure residential neighborhood and I understand the city owns the land, and I think there's more opportune places to put it, where it's literally not in the backyard of residential houses."

A representative for the City of Virginia Beach wrote the following statement to 13News Now:

“The application for American Power Ventures is not on this month’s Planning Commission. It is tentatively slated for discussion at September's meeting; however, that agenda has not been finalized. Since it hasn't gone to the Planning Commission or City Council, there have been no public hearings or comment to date. A recommendation to approve or deny the application would be sent by the Planning Commission to City Council for a final vote. City Council will consider the application's impacts to surrounding neighborhoods and environmental features, in addition to the requirements listed above."

In their presentation to the neighborhood, American Power Ventures said they develop and manage power generation and infrastructure projects. For this project in particular, the battery storage system will "run intermittently, typically charging itself from the electric grid at night and discharging stored energy back to the grid at day."

They say the BESS installation will be able to supply electricity to 15,000 homes. They anticipate construction to begin in early 2025 and begin fully operating in 2026.

They do cite the risk of batteries overheating and causing a fire, but claim that risk is low with newer, more efficient battery technology and "multiple failsafe design elements."

Now, the neighborhood is raising awareness of the project with a rally this Saturday at 11 a.m. at New Jerusalem Church of God in Christ. They've also posted a petition online.

"We've lived here over seven generations, " said Sharon Felton. "We want to keep the legacy of our community living on."

They hope to get the city on their side before the company presents their proposal to the planning commission in September.

Councilmembers Barbara Henley, Sabrina Wootan and Joash Schulman and said since this has not passed through the planning process yet, they don't know much about the project at this time.

Councilman Chris Taylor said he has already heard from several concerned residents, "primarily, that this is a historic area in the community and it seems the city has done very little to support the historic district."

Mullins-Rice said this is not the first time they've fought back against a project being built on that property and won, and they're planning to do the same this time.