The project includes three components (1) construction and operation of a 600-MW Battery Energy Storage System facility (BESS Facility), (2) demolition and removal of the existing Morro Bay Power Plant building and stacks, and (3) adoption of a Master Plan. The BESS Facility would be constructed on a 21-acre portion of the Project Site and would consist of three two-story buildings with a total building area of 91,000 sq ft. Infrastructure to support the BESS Facility would include power conversion systems, substations, and tie-ins to the existing Pacific Gas and Electric substation adjacent to the project site. The project also includes demolition and removal of the existing power plant building and stacks and backfill and restoration of the site. A Master Plan would be developed in accordance with the requirements of Plan Morro Bay Policy LU-5.4 which would apply to the entire Power Plant Property and would change the land use designation of the BESS Site from Visitor Serving Commercial to General (Light) Industrial and the zoning from Visitor Serving Commercial (VSC) to Industrial-General (IG).
Availability of Environmental Documentation: The Draft EIR is available for public review during regular
business hours at the address listed above and online at: www.morrobayca.gov/bess
- Notice of Availability
- Notice of Completion & Environmental Document Transmittal
- Summary Form for Electronic Document Submittal
- BESS Draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR), March 2024
The City has completed the Draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the proposed BESS project at 1290 Embarcadero. The EIR documents available for public review are linked below and include the Notice of Availability, Notice of Completion, Summary Form, and the Draft EIR dated March 2024.
Public Review Period: Comments on the Draft EIR may be received in writing between Monday, March 11, 2024 and Tuesday, May 28, 2024. Written comments must be received by 5:00 p.m. on the last day of the review period and should be sent to the City of Morro Bay at the following address:
City of Morro Bay
Attn: Kim Fowler, Interim Planning Manager
955 Shasta Avenue
Morro Bay, California 93442
Email: BESScomments@morrobayca.gov
The City of Morro Bay has completed the Draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the proposed Morro Bay Battery Energy Storage System Project. The Draft EIR found the following environmental factors to be significant and unavoidable: historical resources (demolition of buildings and structures that contribute to the Morro Bay Power Plant’s eligibility for the National Register of Historic Places and California Register of Historical Resources). The Draft EIR found the following environmental impacts to be less than significant with mitigation incorporated: construction and demolition air quality emissions, special status plant and wildlife species, riparian habitats and sensitive natural communities, wetlands, wildlife movement and migration, conflict with local policies or ordinances protecting biological resources, buried archaeological resources, tribal cultural resources, seismically induced geologic hazards, expansive soils, paleontological resources, and soil contaminants including metals and petroleum. All other environmental topics were found to result in less than significant impacts without the need for mitigation.
Lead Agency: City of Morro Bay
General Plan Designation: Visitor Serving Commercial with a Mixed-Use Residential Overlay
Project Location: The Project Site covers approximately 43 acres of the 107-acre Morro Bay Power Plant property (Assessor’s Parcel Number [APN] 066-331-046; 1290 Embarcadero Road). The 24 acres located immediately north of the inactive power plant building is currently vacant but was previously developed with above-ground fuel oil storage tanks. In addition, the Project Site includes approximately 19 acres in the southwestern area of the site that includes the inactive power plant building and three inactive stacks immediately southwest of the power plant building. The Project Site also includes the approximately 2.75-acre driveway that connects the existing power plant building to Quintana Road.
Under Plan Morro Bay, which was adopted by the City in May 2021 and serves as the City’s General Plan and Local Coastal Program (LCP) Land Use Plan, the Project Site has a land use designation of Visitor Serving Commercial with a Mixed-Use Residential Overlay. A comprehensive update to the Zoning Ordinance/Implementation Plan was adopted in November 2022, which changed the Project Site’s zoning from M-2/PD/I with a Planned Development overlay and Interim Use overlay designation to Visitor Serving Commercial. The Project Site is subject to a PG&E Deed Restriction and a Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) Land Use Restriction, which are described in detail in the Draft EIR.
Project Description: The project includes three components (1) construction and operation of a 600-MW Battery Energy Storage System facility (BESS Facility), (2) demolition and removal of the existing Morro Bay Power Plant building and stacks, and (3) adoption of a Master Plan. The BESS Facility would be constructed on a 21-acre portion of the Project Site and would consist of three two-story buildings with a total building area of 91,000 sq ft. Infrastructure to support the BESS Facility would include power conversion systems, substations, and tie-ins to the existing Pacific Gas and Electric substation adjacent to the project site. The project also includes demolition and removal of the existing power plant building and stacks and backfill and restoration of the site. A Master Plan would be developed in accordance with the requirements of Plan Morro Bay Policy LU-5.4 which would apply to the entire Power Plant Property and would change the land use designation of the BESS Site from
Visitor Serving Commercial to General (Light) Industrial and the zoning from Visitor Serving Commercial (VSC) to Industrial-General (IG).
Public Review Period: Comments on the Draft EIR may be received in writing between Monday, March 11, 2024 and Tuesday, May 28, 2024. Written comments must be received by 5:00 p.m. on the last day of the review period and should be sent to the City of Morro Bay at the following address:
City of Morro Bay
Attn: Kim Fowler, Interim Planning Manager
955 Shasta Avenue
Morro Bay, California 93442
Email: BESScomments@morrobayca.gov
Availability of Environmental Documentation: The Draft EIR is available for public review during regular business hours at the address listed above and online at: www.morrobayca.gov/bess