Convergent Energy & Power has withdrawn its proposal to build a controversial lithium-ion battery storage facility in Rochester.
The move comes a month after the Thurston County Board of Commissioners affirmed special use permits for the proposed 5.4-megawatt lithium-ion battery energy storage system (BESS) at 7505 183rd Ave. SW in Rochester. The permits were granted March 9 by Thurston County Hearing Examiner Sharon A. Rice, who initially denied the permits Nov. 10 but changed her decision after Convergent appealed for reconsideration.
The special use permits were granted with a host of contingencies to address concerns around groundwater contamination and fire safety, including a requirement that Convergent had to submit adequate fire response and hazardous mitigation plans before the company could receive the necessary building permits for the project.
Thurston County Community Planning & Economic Development received Convergent’s application withdrawal request on June 26 and closed the project application the same day.
If Convergent chooses to pursue this project, or a similar one, in Thurston County in the future, the company is required to submit a new application.
Convergent first submitted its application for the Rochester BESS in October 2024.
The company did not immediately respond to the Thurston Chronicle’s request for comment.
Rochester-area residents who opposed the project through the grassroots organization “Pause the BESS” celebrated this week, thanking community members, particularly West Thurston Fire Chief Nathan Drake, for their support.
“Through teamwork and donations we were able to get to this point,” said Rochester resident and Pause the BESS representative Casey Taylor.
The end of Convergent’s proposal does not eliminate the community’s concerns around BESS projects in Thurston County, however.
A separate proposal from BrightNight LLC for a 228,000-square-foot BESS near Bucoda is still active, and the Rochester residents who opposed Convergent’s proposal intend to lend support to their neighbors.
“We did it and we are still here to help Bucoda,” Taylor said.
Community concerns about BESS builds in Thurston County stem largely from the fact that the county has no BESS-specific regulations.
The projects are typically treated as major energy generation facilities, but the rules in place for those projects don’t address the added fire safety and groundwater contamination concerns unique to BESS operations.
Similar conversations about BESS regulations and safety requirements are going on across Washington state as more and more projects are proposed.
South Thurston County residents continue to ask the county for a moratorium on new BESS construction until specific regulations are developed.
Thurston County is currently working on developing those regulations.
“The message is not about being a ‘NIMBY (not in my backyard)’ group, it is about proper laws followed and proper site selections no matter where they are proposed,” Taylor said. “They don't belong near residences, businesses, places where children congregate or on top of aquifers.”
The Pause the BESS group intends to attend parades and public events in the near future, and continues to seek signatures for a petition at https://tinyurl.com/mwx5ennz.
The group is posting updates and information at pausethebessthurston.com and to the Facebook group Pausethebess-souththurston.
