Editor’s note: The print version of this article did not include a quote from Mission Clean Energy about their pre-application for a potential BESS facility in unincorporated King County near Enumclaw because they did not respond by print deadline. The online article has been updated.

Information about battery energy storage systems coming to Enumclaw has been swirling around online, but concrete details are few and far between.

First, a permit pre-application was submitted to King County earlier this year to potentially determine the feasibility of a BESS facility on state Route 410, just across the street from the Krain Corner restaurant, though the pre-application process never progressed.

Separately, Puget Sound Energy recently met with the Enumclaw Planning Commission as the city’s moratorium on accepting BESS permits inside city limits is coming to an end.

But in either case, no formal permit applications have been files – and if they are, it’s likely that a vocal opposition would meet them.

CONTEXT AND HISTORY

BESS facilities are, as the name suggests, power stations of batteries (often lithium) for energy storage.

One of their main selling points is that these facilities help better manage renewable energy. Since some renewable energy systems only produce electricity at certain times — solar power when there’s sunlight, wind power when there wind, etc. — BESS facilities store that energy for a time when it could be best put to use, like times of high demand/low generation.

Until recently, BESS facilities were relatively unregulated in the area. In 2024, the King County Council passed legislation that established more stringent regulations about how and where these facilities can operate.

“The BESS legislation helps meet our critical need for sustainable green energy in a way that is compatible with other important uses of land county-wide,” former King County Executive Dow Constantine said at the time. “But our work doesn’t end here — we will work to identify the optimal places for BESS facilities across the county. King County is committed to making sure these facilities meet the growing energy demands of our communities while safeguarding our environment.”

However, Council member Reagan Dunn, who represents Enumclaw and Black Diamond in District 9, has opposed BESS stations in or near communities, like the highly-controversial proposed facility next to Mattson Middle School in Covington, or agricultural areas.

“BESS facilities need to be carefully vetted in a transparent manner that accounts for community concerns, safety issues, and neighboring uses,” he said in a recent interview. “I was the lone ‘no’ vote on the legislation allowing their construction in unincorporated King County partly because I was concerned that these facilities could be sited, especially in rural and agricultural areas, without adequately addressing the impacts on nearby residents.”

The issues of BESS facilities came to Enumclaw earlier this year, starting off with the city council passing an emergency year-long moratorium on accepting permit applications on Feb. 24; a formal moratorium was approved a month later after a public hearing.

But the months have ticked away, and there’s four to go until the council must consider extending the moratorium, approve some sort of regulation, or decide to simply ban BESS facilities from operating inside city limits.

However, the Enumclaw or King County city councils may not be able to have the final say in their jurisdictions, as Washington State’s Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council (EFSEC) and the state governor can preempt city and county ordinances to permit a BESS facility.

A PRE-APPLICATION?

Mission Clean Energy, a “utility-scale renewable energy and storage developer,” submitted a pre-application to the King County Department of Permitting in early 2024.

According to the county, pre-application meetings can be held at the request of an applicant “to gain a better understanding of regulations that will influence the project design or to determine the project’s feasibility.”

“A pre-application doesn’t necessarily mean all that much in most instances,” said Brent Champaco, PIO with the county’s Department of Local Services. “It is voluntary (with a few exceptions) and serves as a way for potential applicant to seek feedback from King County on a proposal.”

Pre-application meetings are not always followed up by a formal permit application.

According to Permitting, the two parcels associated with the pre-application, located just across the street from the Krain Corner restaurant, total almost 15 acres.

The pre-application called the project “Nook Energy Center,” and the facility would “pull power from the public grid during times of low demand and would provide that power back to the public grid during times of higher demand” via the Krain Corner substation located nearby.

At this time, the status of the pre-application is “canceled” due to “non-payment.”

A pre-application was applied for early last year (January/ February),” Champaco said. “They were invoiced for payment of fees and never paid. The pre-application request was cancelled.”

And Mission Clean Energy confirmed on December 9, after print deadline, that the project was scrapped.

“The Project was in early stages of development and has been discontinued,” said Ethan Frazier, Mission Clean Energy Associate Director of Permitting. “As such, Mission declines to comment on this story.”

The Courier-Herald also attempted to contact the parcel owners, but was unable to do so.

King County said that no permit application has been submitted by Mission Clean Energy at this time, and a spokesperson from EFSEC confirmed they have not received a pre-application or a formal application at this time for this project, or any other in the Enumclaw area.

DISCUSSIONS IN ENUMCLAW?

Puget Sound Energy met with Enumclaw’s Planning Commission on Thursday, Nov. 20 to present how BESS facilities help “get the most value” from existing renewable energy technology and aid local electrical grids, as well as to address oft-mentioned safety concerns.

However, since the BESS permit moratorium is still in effect, no application has been filed to the city at this time.

At this time, the Planning Commission has directed city staff to draft two ordinances for it to review prior to introducing them to the full council — one ordinance for where a BESS facility can be zoned, and one for not zoning a facility.

There is no expected date for the full council to review these ordinances.

The Planning Commission normal meets on the fourth Thursday every month, but since that puts its next meeting right at Christmas, the meeting has been rescheduled to Dec. 18.

The topic of BESS is expected to be addressed, but action normally followed a public hearing, so any further moves about facility permitting is more likely to be taken up in January, at least.

SAFETY ISSUES

There are several concerns opponents of BESS facilities point out when the possibility of permitting arises.

The largest is fires.

First, lithium battery fires are notoriously difficult to extinguish, and emergency response crews have been known to simply let a fire burn out instead of trying to put it out; a May 2024 fire in California burned for five days, and there were periodic flare-ups for another eight.

Second, burning batteries release harmful gases; residents near the California BESS facility fire were ordered to evacuate the area or shelter in placeDC, and it was reported that first responders used aerial master streams and unmanned portable monitors to fight the fire to avoid fumes.

However, according to PSE and the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), the rate of BESS facility failures against the increasing amount of deployed energy has shrunk about 97%; while there were a comparable number of failures in 2018 and 2023, the amount of deployed energy has risen exponentially since.