AriSEIA Submits Comments on Maricopa County Ordinance Update

Maricopa County
Planning and Development Department
301 W. Jefferson Street, Suite 170
Phoenix, AZ 85003
 
RE: MZCO Update Draft #1 comments as to renewable energy and battery storage
 
Dear Supervisors, Commissioners, and Staff,
 
The Arizona Solar Energy Industries Association (AriSEIA) is the State’s solar, storage, and electrification trade association. We are active on energy policy issues at every level of government in Arizona. We have previously engaged on the City of Eloy, Mohave County, City of Mesa, City of Buckeye, Town of Chino Valley, Navajo County, Apache County, Town of Gila Bend, City of Surprise, and Yavapai County solar/storage ordinances. While we made comments into the online draft document, please find our consolidated comments on the draft below:
 
Article 305.4.2 – Plan of Development (Site Plan) Expiration
The current two-year expiration period, with only a single one-year extension, is insufficient for solar projects, which often experience extended development timelines due to utility coordination and other regulatory processes. The expiration period should be lengthened—or eliminated entirely—for solar projects, and applicants should be permitted to obtain an unlimited number of extensions as needed.
 
Article 506 – Landscaping and Buffering
The landscaping and buffering requirements for industrial districts are not appropriate for solar projects and impose unnecessary costs given the large land area such projects typically cover. Solar projects should be exempt from these industrial landscaping and buffering standards.
If a full exemption is not adopted, there should at least be a mechanism allowing staff to administratively approve alternative approaches for remote projects, similar to the process proposed by the City of Buckeye. Additionally, any irrigation requirements would undermine one of the key environmental benefits of solar facilities—their inherently low water use.
 
Article 601 – Setbacks
Tying the ordinance to the most recent versions of UL 9540 and National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA) 855 is recommended. The American Planning Association found the national setback average for BESS-specific setbacks was 50-150 feet from property lines.[1] While the NFPA recommends 100’, we recommend no more than 150’ from the structures (not the property line) based on the Phoenix Regional Standard Operating Procedures Battery Energy Storage Systems policy.[2] Also, the setbacks should be measured from the BESS equipment, not the BESS property line. This would align Maricopa County’s ordinance with national standards, improve regulatory defensibility, and ensure that safety requirements scale appropriately with actual risk rather than imposing arbitrary limits that could either under- or over-regulate BESS facilities.
 
Additionally, modern BESS projects are subject to new and updated safety standards and codes that have addressed and corrected issues found in earlier system design.  The American Clean Power Association (ACP) provides a helpful FAQ that covers questions about battery safety and air emissions.[3] ACP also has a Claims v. Facts one-pager on battery safety, included again as Attachment A. “It should also be noted that the average emissions rates of equivalent masses of plastics exceed those of batteries.”[4] Additionally, sampling was done by the Environmental Health Division and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) after the Moss Landing incident and “no threat to human health or the surrounding environment” was found.[5] All electricity generation and energy storage creates some amount of risk. However, battery incidents represent only 2% of battery installations.[6] Setbacks for batteries should not be more onerous than setbacks for other energy infrastructure, such as substations. ACP’s model BESS ordinance is included as Attachment B.
 
Applicability
Your current battery energy storage system (BESS) definition does not exempt distributed projects. If the ordinance is intended to only apply to utility scale projects, we suggest you make that explicit. A sample definition is below:
 
Battery Energy Storage System (BESS):
A facility that stores electrical energy in battery cells or modules for later use in providing electricity to the grid or enhancing the reliability and efficiency of the electric system. A BESS includes all associated structures, equipment, and controls necessary for safe and effective operation.
 
For purposes of this ordinance, a BESS shall be considered utility-scale when designed for wholesale energy market participation or grid services and when not primarily intended to serve on-site end-use load. Residential, commercial, and industrial systems installed behind the customer meter or serving on-site consumption shall be considered distributed generation and are exempt from this definition.
Similarly, you have three different definitions of solar. These should also be revised and the ordinance should make it clear that the ordinance is intended to only apply to utility scale projects. A sample definition is below:
 
Solar Energy Facility (Utility-Scale):
A facility that converts sunlight into electrical energy using photovoltaic or concentrated solar technologies and delivers that energy to the electric transmission or distribution grid for wholesale market participation or sale to a utility. A solar energy facility includes all associated equipment, such as panels, inverters, racking systems, transformers, access roads, and maintenance buildings.
 
This definition applies only to utility-scale solar installations. It excludes solar energy systems installed for on-site use or self-consumption, such as residential, commercial, or industrial distributed generation located behind the meter or designed to offset the energy use of the property on which it is installed.
 
Waiver Provision
The ordinance should include a waiver provision in the event a project proposal conflicts with some component of the ordinance, but is otherwise an ideal site. The City of Eloy Solar and BESS Ordinance includes such a provision.[7] We recommend adding language such as that included in 21-3-1.39(B) of Eloy’s ordinance. A waiver provision gives the city the flexibility when special circumstances and safety demand.

Other
​As discussed above, the NFPA 855 provides recognized industry best practices for BESS. Incorporating NFPA 855 by reference into this ordinance will provide Maricopa County with clear, nationally recognized metrics on maximum system capacity, hazard mitigation, emergency response, and decommissioning. 
 
Thank you for your time and consideration and we look forward to continuing to engage with the
County on this ordinance as the stakeholder process progresses.
 
Respectfully,
Autumn Johnson
Executive Director
AriSEIA 
(520) 240-4757
[email protected]

[1] American Planning Association, Zoning Practice, P.10 (Mar. 2024), available here https://planning-org-uploaded-
media.s3.amazonaws.com/publication/download_pdf/Zoning-Practice-2024-03.pdf

[2] City of Phoenix, Battery Energy Storage Systems, April 2023, available here https://www.phoenix.gov/firesite/Documents/205.20A%20Battery%20Energy%20Storage%20Systems.pdf.

[3] American Clean Power Association, Energy Storage: Safety FAQ, available here https://cleanpower.org/wp-content/uploads/gateway/2023/07/ACP-ES-Product-4-BESS-Safety-FAQs-230724.pdf.

[4] Consolidated Edison and NYSERDA, Considerations for ESS Fire Safety, Feb. 9, 2017, at iii, available here https://www.nyserda.ny.gov/-/media/Project/Nyserda/files/Publications/Research/Energy-Storage/20170118-ConEd-NYSERDA-Battery-Testing-Report.pdf.

[5] County of Monterey, Air Quality Testing Information and Process During Moss Landing Fire Incident, Sept. 30, 2022, available here https://www.countyofmonterey.gov/Home/Components/News/News/9345/1336.

[6] California Public Utility Commission, Energy Storage Procurement Study: Safety Best Practices, 2023, available here https://www.cpuc.ca.gov/-/media/cpuc-website/divisions/energy-division/documents/energy-storage/2023-05-31_lumen_energy-storage-procurement-study-report-attf.pdf.

[7] Eloy Ordinance, 21-3-1.39, available here https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/eloyaz/latest/eloy_az/0-0-0-9381.

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