Oshtemo Township’s Planning Commission voted unanimously to advance a moratorium on new solar energy project applications to the Township Board.
The moratorium would pause new solar development applications while the commission finishes work on a broader energy systems ordinance covering solar, battery storage, and wind projects. No members of the public spoke at the hearing before the vote. The moratorium now goes to the Township Board for further action.
Much of the meeting focused on the battery storage, or energy storage system (ESS), provisions taking shape in that broader ordinance, driven in part by concerns raised at past meetings about large-scale battery projects proposed in the township. The commission worked through a detailed set of safety requirements for any future ESS facility:
- Early gas detection. Battery enclosures would need a multi-gas detection system capable of identifying off-gases associated with early-stage thermal runaway — the chemical process that can precede a battery fire — before smoke or flame is visible, targeting gases including hydrogen and carbon monoxide.
- Automatic fire suppression. Each battery enclosure would need an automatically actuated suppression system, using an agent compatible with the battery chemistry involved, installed by a licensed contractor to NFPA standards and capable of operating on battery power if grid power is lost.
- Cybersecurity requirements. Because these systems are networked, the ordinance would require access controls such as network segmentation and firewalls to guard against unauthorized access, with the commission agreeing that outside technical experts would need to weigh in on more advanced measures, such as data diodes, given the complexity involved.
- Groundwater protection. Projects would need a hydrological analysis projecting how groundwater moves from the site, plus long-term annual monitoring for metals, PFAS, and other contaminants.
- Emergency planning. Facility owners would need to develop an emergency response plan in consultation with the Oshtemo Township Fire Department, kept up to date and shared with the department after any significant changes or incidents.
The commission also discussed wind energy provisions, including a proposed change to broaden protection from turbine shadow flicker to cover all “non-participating properties” near a project, not just occupied residences, so that vacant land that could later be developed is also protected.
Toward the end of the meeting, several residents raised concerns about the potential for a large-scale energy storage project in the township, including property values, insurance adequacy, and decommissioning plans in the event of a fire or partial failure. In response, the commission agreed to reinstate a requirement, present in earlier ordinance drafts but since dropped, that projects proposed on undeveloped land include an analysis of alternative sites, consistent with state guidelines.
No final vote was taken on the broader energy systems ordinance itself; the commission’s discussion and review is ongoing.
