- Tesla-built batteries would go on 25 acres of farmland.
- County officials approved project in December.
- Oxnard officials are concerned about potential fire risks.
The high-voltage power lines that once ferried electricity inland from the Mandalay Generating Station near McGrath State Beach are silent these days, the source of their power shut down in 2017.
But if a developer’s plan to install 25 acres of hulking batteries on a strip of farmland just outside Oxnard goes through, the lines above the Ventura-Oxnard Greenbelt could crackle to life again.
The Ventura County Planning Commission approved a 30-year conditional use permit for the Shoals Energy Storage Project in a 4-0 vote during a Dec. 19 meeting. Commissioner Veronica Zimmerman Garcia was absent from the public hearing.
Plans call for the construction of an energy storage facility with about 144 Tesla-manufactured battery units the size of small shipping containers. The outdoor array would be built south of Gonzales Road and a half-mile west of Victoria Avenue and the Oxnard city limit.
Wellhead Power Solutions LLC, the company leading the charge on the 400-megawatt facility, plans to repurpose some of the Mandalay plant’s old high-voltage power lines to connect the facility to the electrical grid.
Wellhead projects that facility will be fully operational in summer of 2027, but is facing a potential roadblock from the city of Oxnard. The city sued the county on March 7, claiming county officials did not give the city sufficient notice of the Dec. 19 meeting.
Oxnard staff learned of the commission’s approval almost six weeks after the meeting, the complaint says, missing their opportunity to voice concerns to the commission before the vote and to appeal the decision.
The commission’s approval became final when no one appealed the decision within 10 days. An appeal likely would have brought the issue to the county’s Board of Supervisors.
The Dec. 19 meeting was not the city's only opportunity to respond to the project. County officials asked for feedback from Oxnard, and city staff gave it early in 2024, county documents show. In its complaint, though, the city said it would have submitted additional comments to the planning commission if it had received notice of the meeting.
The County Counsel’s Office declined to comment this week on the allegations in the Oxnard lawsuit. The county is expected to file its response within the next few months after preparing an administrative record related to the project.
Moss Landing battery fire sparks safety concerns
Battery storage facilities are an important part of California’s ongoing push for renewable energy infrastructure. Over a five-year span ending in October, the state increased its battery storage capacity from 770 megawatts to nearly 13,400, according to the Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office. State officials are targeting a total capacity of 52,000 megawatts by 2045.
Shoals would not be the first battery facility in the county or even near Oxnard. The 100-megawatt Saticoy Energy Storage Site opened just outside city limits at 294 Beedy St. in 2021. Shoals and similar projects are designed to stash power during the day, when electricity rates are cheap and sources like solar are going full tilt, then send it out to homes at night when rates spike.
The risks of industrial batteries were highlighted in January when a large battery storage plant ignited in Moss Landing, near Salinas. The fire burned for days, caused 1,200 people to evacuate and sparked concern over hazardous chemical emissions.
“Moss Landing made cities throughout California look at these kinds of (projects) much closer,” Oxnard Chief Assistant City Attorney Ken Rozell said.
Feedback on the Shoals project has by and large been positive. During the hearing, a few members of the public spoke in favor of the proposal. Several others submitted written comments in support, one calling the project a critical step forward that could improve energy resilience while reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
No one spoke against its approval at the commission hearing, though one written comment opposed the move, urging commissioners to require more environmental review. The facility has garnered support from local business, labor and environmental groups, including advocacy nonprofit Central Coast Alliance United for a Sustainable Economy.
Lucas Zucker, a CAUSE co-executive director, said that battery facilities are worth the risk because they are helping to phase out fossil fuel plants like Mandalay.
“We're not going to be able to address climate crisis without moving to batteries at some level.,” Zucker said. “(Battery fire) is theoretically something that could happen. Every day (gas plants) are working as they are supposed to, they are pumping toxic air into these communities.”
Some Oxnard officials are nevertheless concerned. Though the project is on unincorporated county land, it’s just over half a mile from homes in the Victoria Estates neighborhood and three-quarters of a mile from Oxnard High School. Rozell said city firefighters are likely to be the first called if a blaze breaks out.
“We know it needs to be put somewhere, but it needs to be mitigated,” Rozell said. “The county did not impose proper mitigation in this project.”
The county and its environmental consultant conducted “a lengthy, detailed analysis," Chief Assistant County Counsel Jeff Barnes said in response to questions from The Star. That review found the project’s potential impacts were consistent with those already addressed in the county’s general plan, which was approved in 2020.
Officials also analyzed the proposed project and set conditions to address potential fire hazards and other concerns, Barnes said.
The proposal was the first battery storage project approved in the county’s unincorporated areas subject to a 100-acre limit. County officials set the limit for such projects in open space, agricultural and rural zones. Previously, the county permitted a battery storage facility in an industrial zone not subject to the acreage limit.
City Councilmember Bert Perello, who represents Victoria Estates along with the rest of the coastal District 1, said he remains wary.
“Do we need it? Yeah, we need it,” Perello said. “I’ve got some concerns about the safety of the thing.”
How battery project would differ from Moss Landing facility
Battery facility safety standards have changed in the short five years since the Moss Landing facility was constructed.
Shoals will use lithium iron phosphate batteries, which project engineer Scott Weaver said are far less prone to the fire that sparked in the nickel-manganese-cobalt cells at Moss Landing.
"The actual battery technology is very different than what was used five years ago," Weaver said. "It seems like a short time, but in battery energy storage terms, it's a lifetime ago."
Developers have also dramatically changed the way they array batteries. Gary Franzen, Wellhead's lead project developer, said the battery facilities of five years ago used what he calls a "one big pile of firewood" approach, as in Moss Landing, where batteries were stacked in racks inside a large converted building.
Shoals would place its batteries in a spaced-out outdoor array. Franzen said that adding buffer between batteries helps prevent any fire from jumping between multiple units and makes it easier for firefighters and technicians to cordon off a blaze.
The final project will require approval from the Ventura County Fire Department, and Wellhead has met on multiple occasions with Oxnard Fire Department officials and other city staff.
The fields around the facility, including the remainder of the 85-acre parcel on which it sits, will continue to be used for crops. Wellhead plans to install a buffer of landscaping and vine-covered fencing to visually and physically separate the facility from the road and surrounding fields.
Even with the improved standards, Rozell said, the city wants to ensure that safety precautions are as robust as possible and that the city has the resources to respond to any potential fire if it is called.
A court battle could be diverted by a settlement, Rozell said. The attorney said the city is asking for additional information on the project and potential extra mitigation measures.
Stacy Miller, a public affairs consultant for the project, said planners are optimistic about a resolution.
"We're working diligently to address and alleviate concerns they have on the project," she said. "We feel good about the conversations we're having."
Staff writer Cheri Carlson contributed to this story.
Isaiah Murtaugh covers Oxnard, Port Hueneme and Camarillo for the Ventura County Star. Reach himatisaiah.murtaugh@vcstar.comor805-437-0236.
