What you need to know
On Sept. 24, League City City Council voted 6-2 to approve an ordinance that would allow a BESS, owned and operated by Peregrine Energy, to be built between Highway 3 and Dickinson Avenue, south of Washington Avenue according to city documents.
Council members Tom Crews and Justin Hicks voted against granting the special use permit to Peregrine Energy.
In their own words
League City resident Christine Thomas was one of several residents who spoke against building the facility in League City during the public comment portion of the meeting.
“I think we still have a significant level of discomfort with having this relatively new technology so close to our neighborhood and to our school,” Thomas said.
Council member Chad Tressler said he would vote to grant the special use permit because he felt the facility would support energy customers in League City during power outages.
“I’m much more not a fan of the lack of heartiness in our grid,” Tressler said. “I’ve seen too many of our citizens suffer when we have power outages during the worst possible times to have power outages—during deep freezes and the hottest parts of summer.”
Crews said he read the study, and while he said he didn’t fully understand the design and safety standards because he’s not an engineer, he ultimately felt the facility would be safe for League City.
“I believe that these are safe, but my problem is that the people who are around it are legitimately scared, whether it’s a reasonable fear or not,” Crews said. “We’re putting something there that wasn’t there before.”
Hicks said that while he met with Peregrine Energy and other companies who have wanted to build a BESS in League City, he would vote against granting the permit due to the active opposition from citizens.
One more thing
The site will be developed in accordance with sections of the League City Code of Ordinances relating to standards for BESS facilities.
In July, City Council approved an ordinance that laid out a series of requirements for such facilities to set up shop in town. The vote came amid several companies pitching BESSs throughout the city.
