We are concerned residents sharing the news of a HUGE commercial lithium-ion battery storage facility being considered in North Vacaville at 7050 Leisure Town Road.
On January 10, 2023, the City of Vacaville began negotiations with Menard Energy LLC to put a very large lithium-ion battery energy storage facility in North Vacaville, located at 7050 Leisure Town Rd. According to city documents, the plant is HUGE – 32 acres and nearly one million square feet.
Based on previous fires at these facilities, homes that could be in a potential evacuation and/or hazard zone would be within 1-4 miles from the site.
Commercial lithium-ion battery storage comes with risks, including: fires, explosions and toxic smoke that could cause evacuations. The developer is promising a community park with eight tennis courts and a pool as an incentive to accept their project. While this park seems beneficial to the city, this facility doesn’t belong near homes.
LITHIUM-ION IS VOLATILE: Since 2018, there have been 50 documented large lithium-ion battery fires, including two recent lithium-iron battery storage fires in June 2023 in New York. They’re very difficult to put out, require excessive amounts of water and sometimes burn for weeks.
In September 2022, a battery storage fire in Moss Landing, CA shut down an eight mile stretch on Hwy 1. Businesses and residents in a four mile area were told to “shelter in place” and turn off their HVAC to outside air due to deadly toxins from the smoke.
PROPERTY VALUE DECREASE: Most likely would have to be disclosed as potential hazard when selling properties.
NON-STOP NOISE: Battery storage systems are a source of noise pollution. They require their own equipment to charge and cool the batteries, which emit an extremely loud buzzing or humming noise 24/7 that can be heard in neighboring areas.
ALL OTHER EXISTING BATTERY STORAGE SITES ARE IN INDUSTRIAL ZONES OR ISOLATED AREAS: This project is located 1050 ft. from homes in North Village, 480 ft. from a home on Mills Lane, and within a mile of Kaiser Permanente Hospital and Solano College.
CONTAMINATES WATER: Runoff from water used to cool exploded/burning battery units could potentially contaminate the nearby creek and could pollute groundwater which also may affect nearby residential and city wells.
NO LONG TERM JOBS OR ENERGY BENEFIT FOR VACAVILLE: Once built, these systems are usually remotely monitored. The energy saved goes directly to the energy grid and doesn’t guarantee direct power for Vacaville residents during blackouts, only millions of dollars for the developer.
HOW YOU CAN HELP:
1) Share this information with your Vacaville friends and neighbors.
2) Sign and share the online petition. Click here : Sign the Petition
3) Send a message to Vacaville City Council & the Planning Department Manager
( if you want a response, write each one individually)
email addresses:
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4) Attend one of the city council meetings and state your opinion of this project during the public comment part of the meeting. (In person is the most powerful) meetings are biweekly on Tuesday evenings.
5)Be prepared to attend the City Council Meeting when this project is up for a vote. We will need the MOST people in attendance that day and as many speakers as possible. (This is the most important thing you can do)
6) Subscribe to this page for updates. We will post about City Council meetings and any relevant info.
Let's Keep Vacaville Safe!
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