Permitting Perils: Navigating Zoning Law Challenges For Battery Energy Storage Projects

While the technology of battery energy storage has advanced rapidly, the law surrounding the permitting and siting of such systems has often been slow to catch up. As a consequence — whether due to local caution or local opposition — many storage projects are finding that zoning is one of the major challenges to bringing stand-alone storage systems online. Squaring the zoning circle is one of the keys to developing a successful storage project.

To understand why, it's important first to understand a bit about how zoning works. In most cities and towns, all land uses — whether for battery storage, single-family homes, or supermarkets — must be authorized under the local zoning bylaw or ordinance before they can obtain building permits. Most zoning bylaws contain a "table of uses," a matrix listing dozens or even hundreds of types of land uses, and whether those uses are allowed "by right" in a given zoning district (meaning no zoning relief is needed), allowed with