Appeal of Bayview Ridge battery energy storage facility set for June
An appeal of a Skagit County special-use permit for a battery energy storage system on Bayview Ridge will be heard June 23 in Whatcom County Superior Court.
The Stewards of Skagit have filed the appeal over the permit, which was issued in January 2025.
In June 2025, the Skagit County Board of Commissioners denied an appeal of the permit by the Stewards of Skagit, setting up the appeal in court under the state's Land Use Petition Act.
The Stewards of Skagit cite concerns regarding safety, and an improper approval process by the county hearing examiner.
The battery energy storage system, or BESS, proposed by NextEra Energy would be on 22 acres of land on McFarland Road west of Burlington and connect to Puget Sound Energy's nearby Fredonia substation.
The system would use lithium-ion batteries capable of storing up to 200 megawatt hours of electricity.
There have not yet been any completed BESS facilities in the state, but several are being constructed or are in the review process.
State mandates requiring sustainable forms of energy, such as the Clean Energy Transformation Act and the Climate Commitment Act have pushed energy companies to look at alternative energy sources that don't emit greenhouse gasses.
BESS facilities allow for energy to be stored and made available when needed.
Stewards of Skagit President Connie Krier, who filed the appeal on behalf of the Stewards of Skagit, called the upcoming Land Use Petition Act appeal a landmark case for Skagit County and Washington.
As BESS facilities become more common in the state, Krier said it's important to set a precedent about where they're built, the process taken to build them, and how residents are included in that process.
Krier said that if NextEra Energy is allowed to move forward on the Bayview Ridge BESS, it could open the door to other BESS projects, such as the proposed Goldeneye BESS in Sedro-Woolley, which the Stewards of Skagit also oppose.
The Stewards of Skagit are not anti-energy, Krier said, but she and other members are opposed to lithium-ion battery facilities in Skagit County because of the impacts they could have on farmland and wildlife should something go wrong.
She referenced Ember Research Group, a team of scientists at San Jose State University studying the impacts of the BESS that caught fire in Moss Landing, California, in January 2025.
The team has found that following the fire there have been high levels of nickel, manganese and cobalt in sediment of Elkhorn Slough near Moss Landing.
The Ember Research Group hypothesizes that over time these metals will move into water and potentially bioaccumulate in predators such as humans and sea otters.
Krier said she worries that if the Bayview Ridge BESS was to catch fire it would have a significant impact on the county's farmland. Viva Farms is about a mile away from the proposed BESS.
When the county commissioners denied the Stewards of Skagit appeal in June 2025, Commissioner Lisa Janicki said that fire concerns were addressed by the hearing examiner.
Commissioner Ron Wesen said that if BESS facilities should go anywhere, he prefers that they be constructed in areas zoned as heavy industrial, such as the site for the proposed NextEra Energy facility.
Commissioner Peter Browning said it was important to put potential BESS facilities in areas that would not be ecologically harmed.
Browning said that energy will be an issue for the county, especially as it continues to grow.
But Krier said she believes there are better alternatives to lithium-ion BESS facilities. As battery technology improves, lithium-based batteries may become less common because of their risks.
She said that solid-state batteries are likely to become viable alternatives in the coming years, and are believed to be safer than lithium batteries.
She said that upgrading existing energy infrastructure, and teaching residents how to conserve power would also serve as helpful alternatives.
"At this time, we're hearing overwhelmingly that the citizens don't want lithium batteries," Krier said. "The risk versus reward for a lithium battery plant doesn't weigh out for the citizens."
Krier said that Skagit County residents have paid the legal fees for the appeals filed by the Stewards of Skagit.
She expects that if the upcoming Land Use Petition Act appeal is denied the Stewards of Skagit will appeal to a higher court, and that residents will continue to support their fight.
The Stewards of Skagit will continue appealing to higher courts as long as residents continue supporting the appeals against the county and NextEra Energy, Krier said.
"I think they fail to realize the passion and the willingness to fight that the people of Skagit Valley have," Krier said.
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