Plans for a controversial Battery Energy Storage System in an unincorporated neighborhood near Escondido have been withdrawn, according to officials at the local town council in the area where the project was proposed.
Virginia-based global power company Applied Energy Services had been planning to build the Seguro Energy Storage project near the unincorporated communities of Eden Valley, Harmony Grove and Elfin Forest, until submitting a formal request to withdraw its application to San Diego County on Friday.
Many residents and community groups in the area have been opposed to the lithium battery storage facility since it was proposed in 2023.
“We understand the importance of BESS facilities to our energy transition, but we must ensure that the safety of communities is taken into consideration when siting these facilities that have a strong, well-documented history of chemical fires,” JP Theberge, a member of the Elfin Forest/Harmony Grove Town Council, said in a statement. “The community spoke loud and clear about this. More than 5,000 signatures were gathered, and close to a thousand letters were submitted.”
The Seguro project would have been one of the largest facilities of its kind and the only one of its kind proposed in a residentially zoned area surrounded by homes, according to Theberge.
Critics say BESS facilities are inherently volatile and at high risk of catching fire. Experts say the fires that erupt from lithium batteries are extremely toxic, hard to extinguish and tend to last for several days, spreading toxic fumes and depositing heavy metals for miles around.
“Easement rejection by the nearby hospital and nearby business park, as well as stricter siting requirements, made this project a no-go,” Theberge said. “We’re glad the developer has withdrawn their application. We wish them the best and hope they find a site that is suitable while also protecting neighborhoods from potential thermal runaway fires.”
The Escondido City Council passed a resolution in 2024 opposing the project.
A fire at the Gateway Energy Storage Facility in Otay Mesa burned for almost two weeks in May 2024. A fire at an SDG&E-owned lithium-ion battery facility in Escondido burned for several days in September 2024 near the Interstate 15 interchange with state Route 78.
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