The Enumclaw City Council will be having a public hearing about extending a battery energy storage system moratorium during its Feb. 9 meeting.

The issue over potentially zoning for a battery energy storage system (BESS) has been discussed by the Enumclaw City Council since spring of last year.

Elected officials approved a year-long moratorium was on Feb. 24, 2025, for city staff to better research options; a subsequent public hearing was held on April 14 to confirm the moratorium.

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.

Back in Enumclaw, the months have ticked away, and now the year-long moratorium is weeks from expiring.

The options in front of local elected officials are clear: approve some sort of zoning regulation, or decide to simply ban BESS facilities from operating inside city limits.

According to the city’s Planning Commission, a BESS subcommittee has been formed to examine these options; the moratorium, if extended, could give the subcommittee additional time to work.

A timeline for a subcommittee recommendation to the Planning Commission, and a Planning Commission recommendation to the council, is not clear.