It was the nightmare before Christmas for Ted and Sharon Newsom when they looked out their windows Dec. 17 to see the first battery energy storage system (BESS) in Lampasas County under development.
The 200 MW Thomas Cameron BESS facility on County Road 2275 is expected to be in operation by May 2027. According to available information from the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, three additional BESS facilities are planned for Lampasas County.
The Newsoms are concerned about what this facility could mean to the value of their homestead.
“This property we own here was worth a fortune – house, barns, all that,” Ted Newsom said. “I can’t sell it for squat. You couldn’t give it away.”
BACKGROUND ON BESS
Texas and California lead the nation in BESS facilities.
District 68 State Rep. David Spiller (R-Jacksboro) told the Dispatch Record it’s important for Texas to be an energy leader, which includes BESS developments. He notes each project is different and should be carefully evaluated.
“My position is consistent: Growth is important, but it should be responsible, methodical and transparent,” Spiller said. “My primary concern is that all legal processes are followed and that affected communities understand what is being proposed. Leadership in energy should not come at the expense of clarity or due process.”
Unfortunately for the Newsoms and other CR 2275 residents, they had no idea the facility was coming to their northwest part of the county before its development started.
“They don’t want you to know because nobody wants them, and they will do just what we are doing,” Newsom said. “They don’t want anybody to know about it.’
The Thomas Cameron BESS facility is being developed by Texas-based Stella Energy Solutions, which has received investment capital from Daiwa Energy & Infrastructure Co. Ltd – a Japanese-based investment firm specializing in renewable energy and infrastructure like BESS or data centers.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says BESS facilities help stabilize electrical grids by providing steady power, as opposed to renewable energy sources like wind or solar that have slight fluctuations in consistent power generation.
Although BESS facilities are designed to increase power grid capability, the EPA acknowledges lithium battery fires at some installations are extremely difficult to extinguish. Also, the EPA notes battery fires can release harmful gases that pose health risks to residents and first responders.
The agency says since 2020, BESS failure incidents have decreased.
INFORMING COUNTY OFFICIALS
During Monday’s Lampasas County Commissioners Court meeting, Sharon Newsom presented her concerns regarding the facility that sits right next to an ATMOS Energy natural gas transmission line.
“It’s a transmission line,” she said. “You are going to put a lithium battery over a transmission line? I don’t know much about it, but I don’t like it, and it is right in my front yard.”
The four facilities planned for Lampasas County include the Thomas Cameron BESS, Hanna Springs BESS, Gibson Branch BESS and Aurora Energy Storage. Thomas Cameron is the only facility in Lampasas that has received the financial security and notice to proceed, according to ERCOT’s GIS report.
County Judge Randy Hoyer said he was unaware of the facility before the Newsoms brought it to his attention. The Aurora Energy Storage proposal was the only facility Hoyer was aware of.
“We met with them a year or so ago – a couple of times probably,” Hoyer said. “We have a meeting with them next week just to see where they are at, an update. All of these others, no.”
Hoyer emphasized that unless developers are seeking tax incentives from the county, the Commissioners Court is left in the dark.
“It’s between the energy company and the landowner,” he said. “If they aren’t asking for a tax abatement, we may not even know about it.”
RESPONSE IN OTHER COUNTIES
Although it may be too late to stop the development on CR 2275, the Newsoms at a minimum want the Lampasas County Commissioners Court to take action to ensure the facility is developed safely.
Other counties have already joined the fight to regulate potential BESS facilities.
On Monday, the Kerr County Commissioners Court took several steps to fight the East West BESS planned in its unincorporated area. The court approved a resolution requiring BESS developers to submit full documentation demonstrating compliance with all state and national fire code standards, plus adherence to laws relating to critical infrastructure security before receiving court approval.
The Kerr County Commissioners Court became concerned with the East West BESS facility after seeing the developers’ proposed variance request, Precinct 2 Commissioner Rich Paces said.
“They made the mistake of coming to us with a variance request because they didn’t want to have to put in the fire suppression, water sprinkler system internal to these [battery] containers,” he said. “They didn’t want to have water storage on site.”
Until Kerr County made its recent changes, it did not have an adopted fire code. Neither does Lampasas County.
Under Local Government Code Chapter 352, counties with a population over 250,000 or those adjacent to a county with 250,000 residents may adopt their own independent fire code.
Since Kerr County does not meet the population threshold, it must use the fire codes and standards adopted statewide by the Texas State Fire Marshal’s Office.
“They are typically a little bit behind some of the more recent editions of the same codes,” Paces said. “For example, Kendall County, because they are adjacent to Bexar County, they can adopt their own fire code, so they can adopt the latest version of NFPA 855, the 2023 version versus the 2020.”
Kendall County strengthened its safety requirements for BESS by adopting the 2024 International Fire Code, working with fire safety experts and implementing a county BESS guidance design grounded in the International Fire Code Chapter 12 and National Fire Protection Association 855.
In a Facebook post Jan. 27, Kendall County Precinct 2 Commissioner Andra M. Wisian said the court’s efforts had caused the BESS developer to shift its priorities away from that county.
“These actions were taken using existing statutory authority and reflected the court’s responsibility to protect public safety, with a focus on fire access, emergency response, environmental protection and firstresponder safety, not on stopping a specific technology or project,” Wisian wrote in her post.
The Newsoms would like to see Lampasas County follow the direction of Kerr and Kendall counties.
Hoyer told the Dispatch Record he and county commissioners have more work to do to inform themselves how to regulate BESS facilities. He admitted, however, such facilities could provide financial benefits to the county, potentially lowering the tax rate.
Spiller recognizes that the Texas Legislature may need to do more to provide avenues to local government entities to regulate BESS developments.
“As these technologies expand, the legislature should continually evaluate whether the balance between statewide reliability and local input remains appropriate,” Spiller said. “Economic development should work in cooperation with communities – not around them.”
With BESS becoming a growing part of Texas’ energy future, the Newsoms encourage their fellow county residents to educate themselves about the topic.
