Article Text

Fairfax County is considering new zoning restrictions for large-scale battery storage facilities, including minimum setbacks, noise studies and limits on where the systems can be built.

The Board of Supervisors voted Jan. 13 to schedule public hearings on the proposed rules. The Fairfax County Planning Commission will consider the changes Feb. 25, followed by supervisors on March 17.

The amendment targets Battery Energy Storage Systems, or BESS, with rechargeable batteries capable of storing more than 600 kilowatt-hours of energy. It would add a formal definition for the facilities along with new development standards and application requirements.

Large battery storage sites would be prohibited in residential and mixed-use districts unless paired with solar panels or an electrical substation. In most other zoning districts, developers would need a special exception, requiring public hearings and formal approval from supervisors.

Smaller systems would be treated as accessory uses. That category would also include batteries installed inside buildings to support another primary operation, such as a data center. Those systems would not require separate zoning approval.

Battery storage facilities can collect electricity from the power grid, solar panels or wind generation and release it during outages or periods of high demand.

“BESS can help reduce energy waste and improve grid efficiency, which, over the long term, can translate into lower electricity rates for customers,” county staff told supervisors in a memo.

County officials said the proposal followed extensive research and public outreach, including two community meetings last summer. Supervisors previously examined the issue during a January 2025 meeting of the Land Use Policy Committee.

Springfield District Supervisor Pat Herrity said at that meeting that officials must consider how the facilities could affect neighboring properties.

“We’ve got to be very careful what they’re next to,” Herrity said.

Sully District Supervisor Kathy Smith, the committee’s chair, also pointed to the complexity of regulating the emerging land use.

“These subjects take a lot of research,” Smith said.

Supervisors approved the two hearing dates through their Jan. 13 administrative agenda without discussion.