IRWINDALE CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS
5050 N. IRWINDALE AVENUE
IRWINDALE, CALIFORNIA 91706
NOVEMBER 13, 2024
WEDNESDAY
4: 32 P. M.
The Irwindale CITY COUNCIL and PLANNING COMMISSION met in a special joint meeting at the above time and place.
ROLL CALL: Present:
Councilmembers Mark A. Breceda, Manuel R. Garcia,
H. Manuel Ortiz; Mayor Pro Tern Larry G. Burrola;
Mayor Albert F. Ambriz
Commissioners: Albert Acosta, Casey J. Miranda, Joseph V.
Rodriguez, II; Vice Chair Richard Chico ( arrived at 4:48 p. m.); Chair Maricela Frymark
Also Present: Julian A. Miranda, City Manager; Adrian Guerra, City Attorney; Theresa Olivares, Assistant City Manager; Marilyn Simpson, Community Development Director; and Laura Nieto, Chief Deputy City Clerk
AB 2449 DISCLOSURES None.
SPONTANEOUS
COMMUNICATIONS
FRED BARBOSA Fred Barbosa suggested for the City to take the Five Points property via eminent domain.
STUDY SESSION ON
BATTERY ENERGY
STORAGE SYSTEMS
DIRECTOR SIMPSON Director Simpson introduced Craig Lewis of the Clean Coalition, who presented a PowerPoint update and provided the following details:
1) Clean Coalition' s mission and renewable energy end -game. 2) Key terms
3) Clean Coalition' s experience with BESS
4) An overview of the grid and where BESS play
5) The proliferation of BESS
6) BESS pro' s and con' s.
7) BESS grid services
8) The need to exercise caution with such facilities
9) BESS examples
10) Valecito Energy Storage Resilience (VESR)
11) Goleta Load Pocket
12) Greenbark BESS
13) The lack of resiliency of natural gas infrastructure 14) Humidor as a major BESS in California
15) Effects of energy storage on peak demand
CC / PC MINUTES
SPECIAL MEETING
NOVEMBER 13, 2024
PAGE 2
ROBERT DIAZ Responding to questions from Robert Diaz, Mr. Lewis advised that the project would create approximately $ 2 million per year in tax revenue for Los Angeles County and would benefit from the job creation for local community members as the project is constructed.
He noted that developers would also pay fees to the city. Additionally, the developer could create a solar microgrid similar to those found at high schools, which result in tremendous savings. He stated that developers are generally open- minded regarding the types of community benefits that they could offer.
Mr. Diaz also asked about the best use of available land, to which Mr.
Lewis stated that each jurisdiction could decide what is best for their land, though he stated that battery storage systems bring tremendous value.
GARY NORRIS Gary Norris, who identified himself as an independent economist, spoke on peak power loads and past rolling black/brownouts and pointed out that there have been no additional black/ brownouts since an additional 5gw were made available through BESS systems.
FRED BARBOSA Fred Barbosa stated that BESS fires should be classified as Class B, not Class A, as it currently shows. He also asked about the accumulation of gasses within the system and whether they are filtered out. He then asked about sales tax revenue for the City and whether this project would impact nearby projects.
SUZANNE GOMEZ Suzanne Gomez asked about the toxicity levels of gasses that are released and about the processes used to put out fires. She also requested information about recycling and encouraged the Council to investigate this further.
MAYOR AMBRIZ Mayor Ambriz stated that staff has noted the questions asked and may be able to address them at a future meeting.
COMMISSIONER Commissioner Miranda asked about supply lines, fire suppression MIRANDA systems, mitigation of seepage, safeguards, and end of life procedures.
CRAIG LEWIS Responding to a comment by Fred Barbosa, Mr. Lewis advised that BESS fires are in fact categorized as Class A fires. Regarding emergency procedures, the developers would put together an emergency response plan to be coordinated with emergency responders, who would receive training on how to respond to any type of issues that may arise at the battery facility. He added that: 1) energy from the batteries to the grid and vice versa could be accomplished through underground or overground connections, depending on site factors; 2) battery recycling implementation is being researched by many parties; 3) air and soil seepage and toxicity levels have been researched extensively and elevated toxicity is only present within 25 feet from the battery cabinet. He noted that battery CC / PC MINUTES NOVEMBER 13, 2024
SPECIAL MEETING PAGE 3
systems are designed to be isolated at specific cells / cabinets to prevent the issue from growing.
COMMISSIONER Responding to a follow up question from Commissioner Miranda, Mr.
MIRANDA Lewis advised that Clean Coalition has facilitated six solar microgrids for schools in the Santa Barbara Unified School District, and that their high schools have battery energy storage systems on site.
MAYOR AMBRIZ
ADJOURNMENT
Mayor Ambriz thanked Mr. Lewis for the information provided and requested that the matter be further discussed at a future meeting.
There being no further business to conduct, the meeting was adjourned at 5. 33 p. m. 4W0XX,6 z
Lau a q. Nieto, MMC
Chi f eputy City Clerk
Approved as submitted at the meeting held December 11, 2024.