A battery energy storage facility is being eyed for Prairie Grove, but residents question the potential impacts on safety and wildlife.

Eolian Energy is considering a standalone energy storage facility, which would use batteries to store excess power from the electrical grid and discharge it back when needed, Eolian Development Vice President Sam Lines said during a presentation to the Prairie Grove Village Board last week.

The company is looking to build on about 52 acres off Behan Road near Snap-On Tools.

“It’s a bit unique because it is not an actual power-generating plant,” he said. “It’s the same kind of battery that’s in an electric vehicle or a phone or many other consumer electronics.”

Eolian Energy is an “investor in energy projects,” including energy storage, solar and wind generating developments, according to its website. The company, financially backed by BlackRock’s Global Infrastructure Partners, has similar facilities in Texas and California. A typical facility is an outdoor fenced yard with batteries in containers, Lines said.

The batteries are used to integrate solar and wind generators into the grid, to integrate electric vehicle charging and as an alternative to power lines and are designed to make grids more reliable by preventing blackouts.

The local proposed is called the Monarch Grid, and Eolian is looking to have a portion of the land currently in unincorporated McHenry County annexed into the village. Eolian could create a “community benefits agreement” that would allow Prairie Grove to provide input on safety responses and facility design, Lines said.

The plan is to connect the 600-megawatt battery energy storage system to a nearby ComEd substation, Eolian CEO Aaron Zubaty said in a statement emailed to Shaw Local.

During the Village Board presentation Dec. 2, it was standing-room-only, with residents raising concerns about safety and impacts to wildlife and property values. Many recognized the desire to add in alternative power sources but did not see the location for the facility as a good fit.

The proposed facility would be nearby homes, Prairie Grove Elementary School and Prairieview Education Center, resident Terri Rybicki said in a news release representing concerned neighbors. Residents also question the potential impact onprivate wells, air and soil quality and the potential risk of fires and chemical leaks.

“This project poses direct dangers to our families, our drinking water and our local wildlife,” Rybicki said in the release. “We need answers, not evasive responses, and we deserve transparency from both the village and the company proposing this project.”

A major question among residents is whether battery storage is safe and if the local fire department can take on the extra workload. In the presentation, Lines acknowledged large battery plant fires that have broken out in California and New York in recent years. Soil and water samples in New York were tested after a fire in surrounding communities and no levels of contaminants detected, he said.

“These are no different than any mixed-material fire, realistically,” Lines said.

Eolian brought in a group that wrote the fire protection code for batteries to do educational sessions for Nunda Rural Fire Protection District, Lines said.

“These things are coming to the area broadly. Here’s what they are, here’s how we deal with them,” he said.

The company intends to use lithium-ion batteries with a lithium iron phosphate chemistry, which Zubaty said is “the current industry standard with a long track record of safe operation in communities across the country.”

A management system also is used to monitor voltage and manage temperature, voltage, communications and detect heat and smoke.

Monica Stokke, a trustee in nearby Oakwood Hills, questioned if the facility would have an impact on neighboring Bates Fen Nature Preserve, which is home to many rare plant and insect species.

“My concern is habitat loss in general,” Stokke said. “I just wanted to voice my concern for the wildlife and the rare species that we’re trying to keep around for a few more hundred years.”

Illinois legislation called the Clean and Reliable Grid Affordability Act was passed in October and is on the desk awaiting Gov. JB Pritzker’s signature. The new law aims to add at least 3,000 megawatts of cumulative energy storage capacity by 2030.

The legislation require counties to allow for facilities in most zones and not regulate them, creates safety standards and plans out the property taxes.

Resident Ewa Doroszko asked for the petitioners to build the facility in a more populous area that won’t affect natural areas for which residents came to Prairie Grove.

“Why do you want to get into this particular place?” she asked. “Just leave us alone. We run away from this.”

Eolian estimates the facility could generate a total of nearly $5 million in property taxes in the first year. Nearly $200,000 is estimated to go to the village, nearly $2.2 million to School District 46 and over $380,000 to Nunda Rural Fire Protection District.

“So, hopefully it provides a real community benefit,” Lines said.

If petitioners move forward with the proposal, there will be public hearings were residents can speak and ask questions, Village President David Underwood said.

Zubaty said in the statement: “We are committed to working with the Prairie Grove community to ensure that Monarch Grid represents the highest standards for safety, environmental stewardship and local economic benefits.”

The statement continued: “We appreciate the region’s natural beauty and the rural character of the Prairie Grove community, and have plans to make significant investments into natural landscape buffers that will complement the surrounding areas and mitigate any visual disruption to the community.”