CITY OF KATY (Covering Katy News)—The Katy City Council unanimously denied a special use permit Monday for a battery energy storage facility designed to help prevent power outages like those caused by Winter Storm Uri, when extreme cold froze equipment, leading to historic blackouts and a near-collapse of the Texas electric grid.
The facility would have been located at the southwest corner of the Highway 90 and Cane Island Parkway intersection. A battery energy storage station collects and stores excess energy and sells it back to the electric grid—run statewide by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas—when more power is needed.
Ochoa Energy Storage proposed a 500-megawatt Battery Energy Storage System project to support the Texas electric grid. The energy would have been stored in containers on the property. This project would have been on privately owned land, directly next to an electrical substation and what the company calls "a major electrical corridor serving the residents of the Katy area."
"Adding energy storage to the Texas grid allows extra power to be stored when demand is low, which is then used when demand for energy increases," the company website says. "This partnership will help to reduce or avoid price spikes and supply shortfalls."
Ochoa, based in Irving, Texas, requested the special use permit for the property, which is zoned for industrial use and is currently unused. The 24-acre property, at 27051 Highway 90, would have used about 5 acres and utilized lithium-ion batteries.
At an Oct. 14 public hearing, residents said they were worried about the facility being too close to schools and homes. They also had environmental concerns, with the land being in a floodplain and the potential pollution if batteries were to combust.
Ward A Council Member Janet Corte described the company as relatively new and operating in a loosely regulated environment. She cited safety and location concerns for her opposition.
“I don’t think it aligns with the city’s mission statement,” Corte said.
Ward A Council Member Dan Smith said when he researched other cities that have similar systems, he found a case in California where the facility burned down. He said Katy needed to review its business ordinances so such systems, if approved, could be implemented safely and in a suitable location. "This isn’t it," he said.
“Katy residents have made their voices heard, loud and clear,” Smith said.
Council Member-at-Large and Mayor Pro Tem Chris Harris said city officials have learned a lot over the past couple of months as the application process ran its course. He also cited the proposed facility’s proximity to Katy High School, the Katy Community Learning Center, and residential areas as some of his reasons for voting to deny the application.
The facility would have been 1.2 miles from Katy High School.
While Ward B Council Member Rory Robertson joined his colleagues in voting to deny the application, he said it was a “great project,” and he did his duty to help educate the public about it. The issue is larger than personal opinions, he said.
“The community has made its views known,” Robertson said.
Ward B Council Member Gina Hicks said she recognized the overwhelming view was to deny the application, but she was disheartened that the opposition seemed to be based on fear.
Hicks said $21 trillion was needed to build the power grid, and local storage is critical to reduce that cost. Otherwise, she said, communities cannot meet the spikes and demands for energy.
“Our electric bills will increase if we do not have energy storage options,” Hicks said. “This is going to have an effect on us whether we approve it or not.”
Hicks said such facilities, to be effective, must be in residential areas. The facilities cannot be out in the country somewhere, she said, though she understood the proposed Katy location was not the best one.