Residents continue seeking ways to stop AES Battery Energy Storage System

Residents appeared at the Dubois County Commissioners meeting on Monday to continue to push against the planned Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) being constructed south of Huntingburg in the Crossvine Solar Development by Indianapolis-based AES.

AES expects to start construction on the system located on Holland Road Northeast in March of next year. CenterPoint is currently constructing a substation near the location of the BESS. The BESS will use lithium batteries to store 85 MW of energy that can be released during peak demand times.

Before hearing these concerns, Commissioner Chad Blessinger shared the information he had gathered from meetings with AES representatives, attending last week’s open house in Huntingburg and from his own research.

“I like letting people know that I take their concerns seriously,” he said.

Blessinger met with eight representatives from AES and attended a public information meeting in Huntingburg to gather information about the project’s safety aspects and plans.

The commissioner said his concerns were about public safety, so his comments focused extensively on fire suppression and containment issues raised by residents at previous meetings.

He spoke with representatives from Fluence, the manufacturer of the BESS. He said they reported installing over 800,000 of these batteries with a small number of incidents.

Blessinger reviewed multiple reports, including documents from the Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Energy, concluding that battery energy storage systems are becoming safer annually. He cited EPA findings showing that despite high-profile incidents, improvements in quality and design have led to decreased failure incidents per gigawatt hour.

“The numbers show that the amount of gigawatts has doubled and the amount of issues has stayed flat. You would assume if twice as many, you’d have twice as many problems. But that hasn’t been the case because the technology is improving,” Blessinger said.

The commissioner noted that failure incident reports show 16 failures through 2023, representing a 0.32% failure rate. Even in cases requiring evacuation, such as an incident in Monterey, California, air quality monitoring found no risk to public health.

He also asked the Emergency Management Agency Director Tammy Humbert to comment about the BESS.

“It’s my job to make sure our first reponders have the training that is necessary if this is implemented,” she said, adding they had only had one meeting so far but more were planned.

Humbert stated the company did plan on providing training for responders and had also reported the on the safety mechanisms in place in the BESS.

“Our office is watching it and monitoring it the best that we can,” Humbert said.

Commissioner Blessinger explained that if this system was going into a property near his home he would not be concerned about safety. “I’d be more concerned about the amonia trucks driving by my house,” he added. “On the other hand if it was right next to my house, it is ugly and I probably wouldn’t care for it.”

He added later that he was not necessarily in favor or against the project.

Blessinger referred to County Attorney Greg Schnarr regarding the request for a moratorium. Schnarr explained that a moratorium is simply a pause on the development to ensure they are done properly, not designed to stop the development.

Blessinger explained that since the projects are underway with approval under the county’s current solar ordinance and policy, it would be difficult to stop them. “We can put a moratorium in until we get the ordinance updated,” he explained, about future projects.

Commissioner Nick Hostetter said he wasn’t opposed to a moratorium.

“Certainly not opposed to a moratorium. And as far as current permits go, if those permits are being followed, I think we’re good. If the permits are not in compliance, I would consider revoking the current permits,” Hostetter said.

Commissioner Serice Stenftenagel wondered if the county could ask them to move the BESS, but Attorney Schnarr said they likely didn’t have the authority since the permitting was for the solar panels, not the BESS.

Blessinger also explained that with the Homeland Security approval of the system, they couldn’t revoke anything.

However, residents continue to express significant safety concerns and have presented information suggesting that AES may have violated the permit, and they have requested permit revocation.

Resident Jason Heile highlighted discrepancies between original permit applications and current project maps. He pointed out that the original permit showed no solar panels in Huntingburg’s two-mile jurisdiction, but current maps indicate approximately 250 acres of solar panels in that area, according to their estimation. He also noted that the original permit required construction to begin no later than Aug. 31, 2025, a date that has already passed.

Blessinger stated that this distinction was likely something to take up with the City of Huntingburg, since they accepted the construction based on the decommissioning plan that is required for these projects. Heile stated that he also felt it was the county’s responsibility to ensure compliance with the project as presented.

Dave Duncan, a Navy veteran with 28 years of experience at American Electric Power Company, raised concerns about toxic gas emissions from lithium-ion batteries during fires. Duncan cited specific chemical hazards, including hydrogen fluoride and hydrogen cyanide production.

“Lithium ion battery fires can produce up to 600 parts per million of hydrogen fluoride,” Duncan said, noting that OSHA’s permissible exposure level is only three parts per million over eight hours.

Duncan calculated potential exposure times for nearby schools and communities, warning that toxic clouds could reach the schools in Huntingburg and Holland in approximately 6 minutes under certain wind conditions.

“There’s no way you can respond. That’s six minutes if you know it’s on fire,” Duncan said, expressing particular concern for children’s safety.

At Schnarr’s advice, the commissioners agreed to review existing permits for compliance and to consider future moratorium options pending legal guidance. No formal votes were taken during the meeting, but all three commissioners expressed willingness to examine both current permits and future regulatory changes.