Grid Battery Boom Meets Local Resistance: 175 Moratoriums Now on the Books

U.S. battery storage capacity has grown tenfold since early 2022 — from 5 gigawatts to more than 50 gigawatts — yet nearly 200 communities have passed or proposed moratoriums blocking new battery farms, according to Stateline reporting published November 11.

Another 54 gigawatts of storage is slated to come online within two and a half years, per federal projections. That total, exceeding 100 gigawatts, could power roughly 75 million homes — though battery farms supply electricity for only one to four hours, not the continuous output of conventional plants. The Energy Information Administration projects national capacity will double again by the end of 2028.

The systems, known as battery energy storage systems or BESS, house banks of lithium-ion batteries in buildings or shipping containers. Developers are increasingly building multi-acre projects to serve local utilities. Utilities want them near substations, which sit close to the communities they power.

How fast is the industry growing?

"The meteoric growth is continuing," said Noah Roberts, executive director of the U.S. Energy Storage Coalition. "For state policymakers who are focused on the energy transition and decarbonizing the grid, (battery) storage is essential."

Thirteen states — including California, New York, Texas-neighbor Virginia, Illinois and Michigan — have enacted targets requiring utilities to deploy set amounts of storage by specific dates, according to the law firm Morgan Lewis. In Maryland, Democratic Del. Lorig Charkoudian authored a 2025 law directing regulators to seek bids for 1,600 megawatts of storage.

"It's basically a no-regret path," Charkoudian said. "Over time once we bring more renewables on, they will be that much more valuable because there's battery storage."

The math is straightforward. Solar farms flood the grid with cheap afternoon power, but peak demand hits in the evening. Batteries store the surplus instead of forcing utilities to fire up costly "peaker" gas plants. Texas and California, political opposites that both produce large amounts of wind and solar, host a majority of grid battery projects and have already stabilized their grids considerably, backers say.

Federal policy adds a push. Charkoudian noted the Trump administration has stalled offshore wind permitting and phased out clean energy tax credits — while battery projects still qualify for a 30% credit. Batteries also get built in months, not the years other energy projects require.

"As we're dealing with a power supply crisis, energy storage is the obvious solution for adding capacity and getting more out of the grid that we've already paid for," Roberts said.

Why do communities object?

Fear of fire drives the opposition. The Moss Landing Power Plant in Monterey County, California, caught fire in early 2025, burned for days and released 55,000 pounds of toxic metals into nearby wetlands. Lithium-ion fires trigger thermal runaway, a reaction that is nearly impossible to extinguish.

"They're making us collateral damage," said Phoenix Artemisia, an activist fighting a proposed facility in Watsonville, California. "We have 12 schools within two miles of us here, but these out-of-state developers are telling us what we're going to do in our backyard." The Watsonville developer, she said, has sought state approval to bypass local officials.

Industry data points the other way. The Electric Power Research Institute published an analysis this month finding battery system failures — arc flashes, fires or explosions — have declined 97% in the U.S. since 2018, adjusted for grid capacity. "Specific design choices have really reduced not only the likelihood of a failure, but the impact of a failure if it happens," said Lakshmi Srinivasan, who authored the analysis. She compares the risk profile to that of electrical transformers.

Moss Landing used an older design, predating National Fire Protection Association standards, industry leaders note. Newer projects use battery chemistry that burns at lower temperatures and isolated modular containers that stop fires spreading.

What happened in Snoqualmie?

Residents of Snoqualmie, Washington, opposed a proposed project by developer Jupiter Power, prompting the city and several neighboring communities to enact moratoriums. Jupiter Power now plans to seek approval from state siting regulators, removing the project from King County jurisdiction.

"We need to think more carefully about what the worst-case scenario is, not just what's typical," said council member Dan Murphy. "The science says (battery farms) are getting safer, but we're still early." He said the site sits near homes, a playground, a waterway and a critical evacuation route.

"We are a very reserved and polite community," Murphy said. "To see the outcry and the animation and the mobilization, it's really struck a nerve with our residents."

Jupiter Power declined an interview but pointed to a document noting all 157 King County substations suitable for a battery project sit within a quarter-mile of schools, daycares, hospitals or other sensitive sites. "For any battery storage project there will inherently already be energy infrastructure nearby," said Kelsey Nyland of Clean and Prosperous. "It often feels like we expect clean energy projects to be perfect in a way that we don't expect from fossil fuel projects."

Is the backlash a business risk?

Carina Energy has tracked 175 battery farm moratoriums enacted or proposed nationwide. "If you have a source of power right where the power's being consumed, the more efficient your system's going to be," said managing director Malaquias Encarnacion. His advice to developers: engage communities early, because "if I didn't know anything about it, I would be nervous as well."

Two former Biden economic officials wrote in The Washington Post this month that battery farms suffer "mistaken identity" in the backlash against data centers. Data centers strain the grid; battery farms relieve it, they argued, making the conflation an expensive mistake. With Washington state ranking last in clean energy growth and holding just one operational storage facility, whether developers can win local trust may decide how much of that 54-gigawatt pipeline actually gets built.