Victory in San Diego County!

CESA played an instrumental role in defeating energy storage guidelines proposed by the San Diego County Fire Protection District that threatened to halt energy storage development in the County. Among several troubling provisions, the Interim Guidelines would have required a minimum of 10 feet of separation among all enclosures at energy storage facilities. In the week before the vote, CESA met with the supervisors or staff from all five County districts and with Fire Protection District staff to explain that the proposed separation distance and other requirements are inconsistent with current national standards and unworkable for project developers.

We appreciate the Board’s recognition that the Fire Protection District’s process was too rushed to give the District the opportunity to consult the storage industry and energy storage safety experts and fully understand the current state of energy storage safety systems and facility design. We look forward to collaborating with the Fire Protection District in 2025 as it incorporates upcoming revisions to the California Fire Code that will address energy storage systems.

CESA submitted detailed comments to the Board in a December 6 letter.

For more information, see coverage of the Board vote in the Voice of San Diego and the San Diego Union-Tribune.