PORT ORCHARD — Kitsap County commissioners will hold a public hearing Monday, Nov. 23, on extending the county’s moratorium on new applications for large battery energy storage systems by another six months, to June 5, 2027.
The pause, first adopted in June 2025, stops the county from accepting new permit applications for battery energy storage facilities in unincorporated Kitsap. It was extended once in May to Dec. 7. The proposed ordinance would add a second 180-day extension while the county finishes rules on where and how such facilities could be built.
Battery energy storage systems use banks of large rechargeable batteries to store electricity for later use. The ordinance says they can help balance the power grid, store solar and wind energy and provide backup power, but also carry risks such as fires, explosions and toxic gas releases, low-frequency noise, groundwater impacts and effects on rural character and wildlife.
What the county is still working on
According to the draft ordinance, county staff have drafted regulations after reviewing other jurisdictions’ rules, meeting with industry and safety experts, and touring a 200-megawatt battery facility. The Department of Community Development still plans public outreach on area-wide impacts, tiers of facilities and which zones they could be allowed in.
The county’s work plan also includes:
- Fire, explosion and contamination risks, and the added strain on local emergency responders, to be studied with those agencies.
- Noise and visual impacts, and whether facilities would fit better in industrial zones than in rural, commercial or residential ones.
- New state fire-safety and construction standards for lithium-ion storage facilities, still-developing guidance from the state Department of Ecology, and Puget Sound Energy’s own safety and reliability requirements.
- Possible tax revenue. Under a 2026 state law, the county can impose a local renewable energy excise tax on battery storage systems starting Jan. 1, 2028.
The agenda describes June 5 as the “new and final deadline” for the county’s battery storage code. The ordinance itself says the moratorium runs through June 5 “unless terminated sooner or further extended by the Board.”
The moratorium applies to new applications, and the hearing is not on any specific project. The ordinance would take effect immediately as an emergency measure if adopted.
How to comment
Commissioners meet at 10 a.m. Monday, Nov. 23, in the Commissioners’ Chambers of the Kitsap County Administration Building, 619 Division St., Port Orchard. The agenda says the public can also take part by phone at 253-215-8782 or on Zoom, but the posted agenda did not yet include the webinar ID or Zoom link. Speakers at public hearings get three minutes. Written comments sent to tlhoesch@kitsap.gov by 4:30 p.m. the day before the meeting become part of the record, according to the agenda.
The staff contact is Scott Diener of the Department of Community Development, 360-536-5452. The agenda and draft ordinance are posted at agendasuite.org/iip/kitsap/meeting/details/42.
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