Vacaville residents flocked to a meeting held by the California Energy Commission on Tuesday to discuss a massive lithium-ion battery project planned for vacant farmland just outside the city.
At the meeting, the CEC presented a staff report and draft environmental review on the proposed 16-acre, 300-megawatt complex, called the Corby Battery Energy Storage System, or BESS. The facility was proposed by NextEra Energy Resources, a Florida-based utility company that operates several wind farms in rural Solano County.
Vacaville Mayor John Carli, Vice Mayor Michael Silva, Solano County Supervisor Mitch Mashburn and local Fire Protection District officials joined over one hundred residents to denounce the plan during three hours of public comment.
For many, the facility itself isn’t quite the problem — it’s where it’s located.
Corby BESS is slated for a large agricultural parcel at the corner of Kilkenny and Byrnes roads. Right across the street is Dee Cole’s house, built 40 years ago by her father. Cole brought pictures of her family and horses on their land to show the commission.
We should not have to sacrifice the peace and quiet of our rural community because an industrial facility was placed next to our home.
Dee Cole, resident
“This is how close — it’s literally in my driveway,” she said on Tuesday. “We should not have to sacrifice the peace and quiet of our rural community because an industrial facility was placed next to our home.”
A BESS facility consists of rows of battery modules that store wind, solar and electrical energy to keep the grid working during power outages. They’re popping up more and more as part of California’s bid to transition from fossil fuels to clean energy.
The project is one of several BESS facilities around the state under review by the CEC, including another, smaller BESS facility in Vacaville. The commission will vote on Corby BESS at a hearing on Nov. 18. People have until Sept. 14 to submit a comment to the commission before the vote.
Supporters tout benefits
NextEra proposed Corby BESS via the CEC, an agency that manages the state’s clean energy goals. The CEC has authority to unilaterally approve any BESS project, allowing NextEra to sidestep Vacaville and Solano County BESS ordinances approved by local officials in the last year — and a local law that requires a public vote to rezone agricultural land.
“We’d be overriding the will of the voters of Solano County,” said Mashburn at the meeting.
According to the CEC presentation, Corby BESS plans check all the boxes. Air quality, greenhouse gas emissions, public health impacts — all conform to local and federal laws, staff said. The only problem flagged in the report was that the project would, indeed, be an eyesore.
Qaim Syed, representing NextEra Energy, told commissioners Tuesday that along with providing a reliable clean energy source during blackouts, Corby BESS would bring over 100 construction jobs and $70 million in local property tax revenue.
On top of that, Syed said, NextEra signed a $500,000 community benefits agreement with Solano Community Foundation to fund classroom grants and programs for low-income residents.
A handful of labor groups showed up to support the project.
Danny Bernardini, a representative of the Napa-Solano Building and Construction Trades Council, said that Solano County residents always oppose projects that end up benefiting them, such as the mostly-shuttered Valero refinery in Benicia, the closure of which left a dent in employment in Solano County.
“We said the same thing about refineries — and they’re leaving,” said Bernardini, urging the commission to approve the project. “Those jobs are gone. And this is the alternative to those refineries.”
‘Wrong place’ for BESS
Locals aren’t convinced. Multiple residents said that Corby BESS would bring to their doorsteps a triple threat of potential fires from degraded batteries, air pollution and drinking water contamination. On top of that, some said, a field of battery containers would lower nearby property values, while the presence of hazardous materials would raise home insurance prices.
“We look at our homes as the largest single investment that we own,” said Mike Geller, whose home neighbors the project. “Who’s going to buy a house that’s built next to a battery and energy storage facility? No one.”
Commenters pointed to the disastrous 2025 fire at Vistra Moss Landing BESS near Monterey, a 1,000-plus-megawatt facility built in 2002. The massive blaze forced the evacuation of over a thousand residents nearby. One year later, crews were still clearing toxic metals that settled over wetlands after the fire.
A lawsuit filed by Monterey County residents accused Vistra Corporation of negligence in operating the BESS — something Solano County residents say is always a possibility, despite the optimism of NextEra reps and CEC staffers.
Corby BESS is different, according to proponents. It’s much newer than the Moss Landing facility, said presenters, and impacts to health are projected to be “less than significant.” The facility will also include numerous fire detection devices, like a chemical-sniffing drone, according to the presentation.
“We think this is not going to be dangerous for your community,” said Drew Bohan, executive director of the CEC.
Vacaville resident Sarah Dunn, an X-ray technician and member of the grassroots organization Keep Vacaville Safe, has helped lead the charge against the current Corby BESS plan.
“It’s too close to home, to water sources and on land that’s not zoned for it,” she said. Dunn said she isn’t exactly opposed to the construction of a BESS in Solano County, but that this one’s in the wrong place.