Comstock Township’s Planning Commission held an informational session Thursday on a proposed battery energy storage project at the former Hickory Ridge Golf Course.
A public hearing is scheduled for August 13.
No vote was taken. The session was designed to let the developer, Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, walk through the project and answer questions from the commission, township staff, and residents before the formal hearing process begins. Township Planner Kyle Mucha said notice of the project was mailed to property owners within 1,000 feet of the site, beyond the 300-foot radius required under state law, given the level of public interest.
What’s being proposed
The project consists of two adjacent battery storage systems — one named “Swan” and one named “Cygnet” — that would together provide a combined 400 megawatts and 1,600 megawatt-hours of storage capacity. The two components are filed as separate legal entities due to how they’re processed through the region’s electrical grid interconnection studies, though they’re being developed together and could eventually be combined depending on those agreements. The site was most recently used as a golf course.
Money to the township
Under the township’s battery storage ordinance, the developer would pay Comstock an annual community host payment of $825 per megawatt of capacity for 20 years — a formula the township updated from an earlier one-time payment structure. At 400 megawatts, that works out to $6.6 million paid to the township over the life of the project.
Separately, the developer has proposed making roughly 105.6 acres of the property available to the township for public recreational use. Parks Director Katie Bush raised questions during the meeting about who would fund and maintain that space long-term, noting the department’s limited staff and budget; the developer said it was open to a collaborative, community-driven approach, potentially including a public-private partnership.
Safety and decommissioning requirements
The proposed facility must meet a 55-decibel average hourly sound limit measured at the property line of any adjacent property not participating in the project; the developer plans sound walls on the north, east, and west sides of the site to help meet that standard, along with sound monitoring before and after construction. Setback requirements under the township’s ordinance include 300 feet from occupied buildings, 100 feet from public rights-of-way, and 2,000 feet from “sensitive land uses,” a category that includes schools.
The project must also include a decommissioning plan and financial guarantee — in the form of a bond, letter of credit, or trust — covering the full cost of removing the facility, not counting any salvage value, should it ever cease operation. The plan anticipates a 20-year project life, with a requirement that decommissioning be completed within 12 months of that determination.
Fire department involvement
Comstock Fire Chief Matt Beauchamp and Fire Marshal Mike Kessler described the department’s role in reviewing the site plan and developing an emergency response plan, which is being consolidated into a single document with the township’s emergency manager. The department has requested a second access road to the site, which the developer has agreed to add, along with annual training for local firefighters before and after the facility begins operating.
The department also outlined equipment needs for responding to potential incidents at the site, with self-contained breathing apparatus as the top priority — current units are nearing the end of their service life — along with air monitoring equipment, thermal imaging cameras, and drones. Commissioners and the developer discussed the possibility of the developer voluntarily helping fund some of that equipment, separate from any formal requirement.
A fire and emergency services consultant, Mike Stanley, also spoke to the commission about emergency notification options, including the limitations of traditional warning sirens, as part of a broader discussion about how the township communicates with residents during an emergency.
Resident concerns
Several residents spoke during the meeting, raising questions about the site’s proximity to two nearby schools, evacuation planning in the event of an incident, whether the project’s stormwater retention pond would be lined to prevent leakage, and how a facility like this might affect nearby property values — citing incidents at similar facilities in Moss Landing, California, and Surprise, Arizona, as reference points. Commissioners said they are compiling resident questions into a FAQ document to be included in the packet for the August 13 public hearing, and have asked the developer to post responses online before that meeting.
What’s next
The Planning Commission’s public hearing on the project is scheduled for August 13, 2026, when residents will have a formal opportunity to comment before any decision is made.
