Plan commission denies rezoning after marathon protest

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For months, rumors circulated about a potential Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) coming to Kokomo. Concerned citizens wondered what such a development would bring.

Is it another battery plant like the two being built on the north side of the city? Would they be storing batteries there? Would it be dangerous? There were plenty of misconceptions. But the reality of a BESS turned out to be no more desirable to the local community.

When the Kokomo Plan Commission met on Nov. 12 to consider a rezoning for the BESS project, a roomful of remonstrators showed up to oppose it. While such a showing has become almost commonplace these days at plan commission meetings, this time had a different outcome.

Spearmint, the company proposing to install a 15-acre BESS along South Goyer Road near the intersection of Lincoln Road, came prepared to calm fears of a catastrophe. A Battery Energy Storage System is designed to hold energy in reserve and then sell it to providers.

“We are not a manufacturing plant,” said Michael Reed, Spearmint’s director of development. “We are not a recycling plant. We're not a warehousing plant. This is a stationary, standalone battery energy storage project with outdoor, rated containers. It's strictly controlled. This is not a project where they're dealing with raw materials and batteries are getting moved around. It's just charging and discharging.”

Spearmint representatives disclosed that the facility planned for Kokomo could power as many as 270,000 homes for up to four hours in the case of a massive power disruption – up to 400 megawatts of electrical energy.

They rolled out a line-up of experts to discuss the safety of the project, how it reacts in the event that an individual battery within the facility overheats and “cooks off,” and how the facility would prevent a cascade of battery failures. In fact, they spent more than 30 minutes preemptively addressing these concerns.

They only served to stoke the flames of opposition.

What followed Spearmint’s presentation was 90 minutes of concerned citizens voicing their opposition to the storage facility. They brought up some of the usual topics that arise with a new development, such as lowered property values and noise pollution. But they also hit on potential contamination and fire risk.

Some speakers pointed out Kokomo's poor history of environmental stewardship when it comes to industry. The specters of old Delco plants and Continental Steel were invoked as citizens expressed concerns that the facility could end up as yet another brownfield unsuitable for use.

One of the most vocal remonstrators was Brent Owens, CEO of CFD Investments. His business abuts the proposed project, and in his view, it would greatly diminish the potential of his property.

“We've tried to be a light in this community,” said Owens. “We employ over 60 people right now. We are in the process of expanding because we have grown so much in the last several years.”

Owens pointed out that the BESS would significantly curtail CFD’s plans for expansion over the next five years, and he echoed concerns about safety.

A representative from Borg Warner, which would be located across Goyer Road from the facility, also voiced concerns about business disruptions in the event of a catastrophic event at the proposed facility.

As the discussion was wrapping up, Kokomo Common Councilman Matt Grecu, who sits on the plan commission, highlighted the relative inexperience of Spearmint.

“You mentioned you have 20 projects in development,” said Grecu. “How many projects with this experiment do you have operational?”

Spearmint representatives admitted that only one of their projects is operational, and they expect to have five more under construction in 2025.

“My concern is that there's a lot of unknowns to this,” replied Grecu. “This isn't the typical rezoning that comes before us. This is a new technology. There's a lot of things different than what we normally see.”

Grecu’s concerns were reflected in the faces of his fellow commission members. After nearly three hours of debate, they were prepared for the vote. And in a break with the plan commission’s recent history, it voted down the BESS unanimously.

With the defeat, Spearmint must wait a minimum of 180 days before it can reintroduce its plans for a BESS at that location. Whether the company will do so was not disclosed at the meeting.