QUINCY TOWNSHIP, MI (WTVB) – Quincy Township officials recently adopted a restrictive new ordinance for battery energy storage systems (BESS) to maintain local authority over utility-scale energy projects.
The Quincy Township Board of Trustees unanimously approved the measure, which restricts large-scale battery facilities exclusively to industrial zones as a special land use. This strategic move is designed to comply with Michigan’s Public Act 233, a 2023 law that allows the state to override local zoning for renewable energy projects unless a community has a “compatible” local ordinance already in place.
The new rules come in response to significant community opposition regarding the proposed 180-megawatt Santina Energy project on Boone Road, which residents feared could lead to fire hazards and groundwater contamination.
By limiting these facilities to the township’s few industrially zoned acres, officials aim to protect agricultural and residential lands while imposing strict operational requirements, including significant setbacks and substantial liability insurance mandates for developers.
While the township cannot legally ban battery storage entirely, Supervisor Kurt Barve emphasized that the ordinance represents the township’s best effort to retain a voice in the siting of future energy infrastructure.
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