A new energy storage project could be coming to Boise’s Southeast.
Idaho Power applied for a conditional use permit for a 10-acre battery storage area at its substation located at 2001 E. Amity Rd. The City of Boise’s Planning and Zoning Commission will consider the application at its February 3 meeting at 6 p.m.
The batteries would sit on concrete slabs, occupying the southernmost portion of the facility. Idaho Power Communications Specialist Sven Berg said that the company had initially planned for a 300-megawatt total capacity for the battery project, but following conversations with neighbors, reduced the number of batteries, reducing the total capacity to 200 megawatts.
Berg said the purpose of the project is to serve energy demand during peak hours. The batteries would store energy during non-peak hours and release it during peak hours, supplying about 70,000 homes with power for four hours, he said.
Berg said that Idaho Power has owned the land the project would be built on since the 1950s. In recent years, “demand for electricity has grown by leaps and bounds all across southern Idaho and considerably here in the Treasure Valley,” he said.
“It’s a big substation,” Berg said. “So we’ll be able to leverage that infrastructure to more efficiently and effectively deliver that energy around to customers who need it.”
The company’s web page about the project says that if approved, it intends to begin construction on the battery site in mid-2025, with the project completed by June 2026.
Addressing noise and fire concerns
Comments submitted on the application show that neighbors have a range of concerns about the project, from noise emitted by the batteries, to the potential for battery-caused fires at the facility.
A new proposed concrete wall surrounded by landscaping would block the view of the batteries and the rest of the substation from neighboring homes, Berg said.
The wall and landscaping are also intended to “deaden” sounds the batteries may produce, Berg said. According to the proposed site plan, the batteries would be about 200 feet from the nearest property boundaries in a residential neighborhood. About 154 feet would separate the property boundaries from the facility wall.
“We’re still working out our final calculations of how much sound we expect, but at this point, we expect it to be similar to what you would hear coming out of the substation right now,” he said.
Regarding fire prevention, the company’s web page on the project said the batteries will be in steel enclosures, with each battery containing its own fire detection and suppression systems. Other precautions include a fire monitoring system for the battery site, as well as gravel surrounding the batteries “that will be kept weed-free to reduce fire risk,” the page says.
The company is also working with the Boise Fire Department to create a plan for how the department would respond to a fire near the batteries, and at the substation at large, the page says.
