Isle of Wight County’s Planning Commission postponed voting on an ordinance that would allow and regulate battery storage sites after holding a public hearing on the matter Feb. 24.
Commissioner Keith Johnson requested to table the matter until March to give himself and other commissioners time to further review the ordinance and the comments made at the hearing and in writing.
The hearing drew three speakers. David Tucker, a Smithfield resident, pushed for a blanket ban while Greg Creswell of Richmond, a senior development manager with solar developer AES, took issue with a provision of the proposed ordinance that would require battery energy storage system, or BESS, projects to meet the same requirements as utility-scale solar farms.
The arrays of shipping container-sized batteries that have emerged in other localities, including Surry County, are “not comparable to solar,” Creswell said, as they require “only a fraction” of the footprint of the typical solar farm. Specifically, he took issue with the proposed 100-foot setback requirement from a project’s security fence, which he said would unnecessarily remove land bordering the project from existing forestry or agricultural use, and BESS projects being subject to the 2% cap on prime farmland the county implemented in 2023 for solar farms. The county has already exceeded the cap by approving AES’ Sycamore Cross solar farm in 2024 that would span more than 2,000 acres.
Connor O’Donnell, also of Richmond, identified himself as the attorney who advised Surry when that county adopted its ordinance allowing and regulating battery projects last year.
He called Isle of Wight’s version a “well-written ordinance” that “leaves a good amount of flexibility for the applicant and the Planning Commission and Board (of Supervisors),” but he contended the required 100-foot setback from the fenceline “doesn’t really work well for BESS projects that are smaller.”
County resident Jeff Lurie also submitted comments in writing asking about emergency response preparedness for battery storage, but according to Chairman Bobby Bowser did not take a position for or against the ordinance.
At least one commissioner, Jennifer Boykin, said she shares Tucker’s hopes for a blanket ban.
When the commissioners voted in January to advertise the ordinance after several months of revisions, Community Development Director Amy Ring advised the body that outright prohibiting BESS projects likely wouldn’t be an option.
“I don’t think you can prohibit it. … You can require a conditional use permit or special use permit, but you have to have at least some avenue,” Ring said.
But citing such a ban in Caroline County, as reported recently by the Times, Boykin says she’s not convinced Isle of Wight can’t do the same.
“I am opposed to any BESS project in Isle of Wight and prefer to have an ordinance that prohibits them or have no ordinance at all,” she said.
Caroline, a suburban community of just under 34,000 residents between Richmond and Fredericksburg, does not presently allow BESS projects in any zoning district, according to Caroline County Administrator Charles Culley.
Isle of Wight has yet to see an application for a BESS project. Meanwhile, pending legislation would take the decision on some BESS proposals out of local hands by deeming battery storage a permitted use in all zoning districts on any parcel where an approved special exception for a solar farm has been granted. The bipartisan bill by state Sen. Jeremy McPike, D-Prince William, passed the Senate 26-13 on Jan. 29 and passed the House of Delegates 68-30 on Feb. 16.
County Attorney Bobby Jones said if the Senate bill becomes law, battery projects on approved solar farm sites would still need to meet the setbacks and other requirements in Isle of Wight’s battery storage zoning ordinance if the local ordinance is passed before July 1.
BESS projects are intended to boost grid reliability by charging during periods of low electricity demand and sending out the stored power at peak demand. BESS projects may, but don’t have to be, co-located with a solar farm.
Isle of Wight’s draft ordinance would require all BESS projects to include a decommissioning plan and surety agreement, as is required for solar farms. A surety agreement refers to a developer’s responsibility to foot the cost of decommissioning.
It would further require the referenced 100-foot setback from the fenceline and an additional 250-foot setback from all public roads and property lines. All equipment would be required to be set back at least 500 feet from any existing dwelling.
The Board of Supervisors would have the option of granting a conditional use permit to allow a BESS project closer than 350 feet but no closer than 100 feet from public roads and property lines.
BESS projects would further be limited to 50 decibels at the property line of an adjoining parcel. Noise from BESS projects typically comes from the cooling systems used in individual battery units.
An existing provision of the Virginia Clean Economy Act, which mandates Dominion Energy transition to 100% renewable energy sources by 2045, requires Dominion to petition the State Corporation Commission by Dec. 31, 2035, for approval to construct or acquire at least 2,700 megawatts of energy storage capacity.
Developing a battery storage ordinance before the issue hits home had been the top recommendation of an energy task force that presented its findings in 2024 after meeting monthly for a year. Surry County approved its first battery project, the 32½-acre Bear Island BESS on White Marsh Road, in 2025.

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