BENTONVILLE -- A Colorado company that wants to build two battery energy storage facilities in Benton County will be back before the Planning Board on Wednesday night.
SMT Energy, based in Boulder, Colo., presented plans to the board at its Nov. 15 meeting for projects on Bethlehem Road near Gravette and on Chamber Springs Road near Siloam Springs.
The items were tabled until the Wednesday meeting after questions were raised last month about the proposal, including some related to safety.
"Battery energy storage systems are a type of technology that stores power when there is excess power on the grid and discharges power back onto the grid when it is needed the most," James Leabman, SMT director of development, said at the November Planning Board meeting.
SMT Energy has grown to encompass more than 1.5 gigawatts of renewable energy projects in the U.S. worth more than $1.5 billion, according to its website. SMT started as a solar energy developer in 2019, the website says.
"We believe battery storage is our industry's best opportunity to generate resilient revenue in the face of rapid change, fueling rapid expansion and ultimately serving the future," the website states.
There has been a dramatic increase in the use of battery energy storage systems in the United States. These systems are used in residential, commercial and utility scale applications, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
SMT officials say they want to build a 200-megawatt site on Bethlehem Road.
The Bethlehem Road site area is a little more than 22 acres and involves five land parcels. The Chamber Springs Road location is one parcel that is just over 40 acres, according to planning documents. It would be a 224-megawatt site, said Madison Kienzle, planning director.
The owners for the Bethlehem Road site are Zachary and Rachel Johnston, Eric Lee and Rebecca Brown; the applicant is SMT Centerton LLC. Mary E. Poole owns the Chamber Springs Road site and the applicant is SMT Siloam Springs LLC, according to documents.
"Benton County is one of the fastest growing counties in the entire country," Leabman said. "Battery storage is critical infrastructure for this type of growth, especially as you see increased penetrations of solar and wind farms across this region. This is incredibly important for maintaining grid stability under these conditions and, as you have continued growth, supporting that increased load."
There would be no access to water, septic or sewer or solid waste disposal at either site, according to planning documents.
The Planning Board last month requested the following of both proposals: a full grading plan, draft of an emergency response plan, consultation with local fire officials, additional mitigation to lower the sound level to 30 decibels or below and additional information about the containers the batteries will be stored in, Kienzle said.
The Siloam Springs site, if approved, would be at 20225 Chamber Springs Road, Kienzle said.
Siloam Springs Fire Marshal Dustin Kindell said the project is in the county and outside the city's primary response area.
"We would respond to support Gallatin Fire Department if the project is approved and an incident should occur," Kindell said. "Just as we would for any building we are called for.
"If the facility holds or presents any factors that necessitate a different approach/response, we would have identified what those unique challenges are and respond accordingly. This starts with what we refer to as our preplans. We do this for all the unique businesses and entities in our city and in our response areas so we are as prepared as we can be for any event we could be called to respond to."
Leabman said the containers would include a fire-suppression system inside them.
Some nearby residents expressed concerns about the projected Bethlehem Road site at the November meeting, including its proximity to residential areas in a growing part of the county and noise from the site.
Tim Whitaker lives with his family on Bethlehem Road and spoke at the November meeting. He said the project would be 150 feet from his master bedroom and the residential area would be affected if something went wrong.
Whitaker outlined a series of fires that have happened in connection with similar facilities. He talked about problems with a constant hum and vibration that comes from such sites. He asked Planning Board members to put themselves in the position of nearby residents.
"We support alternative energy," Whitaker said. "I just don't support being a guinea pig for this right next to my house. There are a lot of other options. It's a new technology, and it's got a lot of issues."
Julie May of Shelby, N.C., used to live on Bethlehem Road, and her mother and stepfather still do, she said. The property line for the proposed site sits just 30 feet from their back door, and the battery storage containers will sit around 250 feet from that property line, May said.
May, in an email, said she had several concerns about the proposed site.
Battery energy storage systems "can have a major impact if they experience failure or thermal runaway events," May said. "Fires, explosions, and emission of toxic gasses are all hazards associated with lithium-ion batteries and with the large number that will be stored on these sites, as well as the lack of publicly available and independently published research on this newly growing industry, there are just too many factors and too many unknowns."
The Bethlehem Road site area is also near the Centerton city limits and is in the city's planning area.
Centerton firefighters would be the first to respond if there was a fire at the site, Centerton Mayor Bill Edwards said. He said he learned of the project a day before the November meeting when a resident asked him about it.
Edwards attended that meeting and voiced his concerns about the proposal on Bethlehem Road.
"Are we able to put the batteries out if there's a fire?" he said. "I want to make sure we can handle this. It's all a new technology."
Edwards said he and his fire marshal plan to attend Wednesday's meeting. He said the project may be safe, but he believes safety concerns need to be answered for area residents.
"We just need more information before they move forward with the project," he said.
Go to the meeting
The Benton County Planning Board will meet at 6 p.m. Wednesday in the Quorum Court room on the first floor of the Benton County Administration Building in downtown Bentonville.