Committee working on BESS moving forward with new Marshall County plan director

Tuesday, May 6, 2025 at 1:30 AM

By Kathy Bottorff

The last meeting of the special committee appointed to work on creating ordinances for Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) in Marshall County was in November.

Committee member and county council member Deb Johnson said the meeting only lasted an hour, but they made a lot of progress. Committee members are still asking questions and trying to determine what additional items should be addressed in the ordinance to protect the county and its citizens.

The committee will become active again now that the plan commission has hired Nick Witwer as the county’s new plan director.

Johnson said many of the items being addressed will also fit into the Industrial Solar ordinance they will be working on next.

Commissioner Stan Klotz said Senate Bill 425 allows the county to retain local zoning for solar and battery storage but restricts the length of a moratorium.

Senate Bill 425 was signed by Governor Braun and addresses the issue of moratoriums on electric generation projects, limiting their duration to one year and prohibiting renewals. The bill aims to prevent what some view as the abuse of moratoriums by local authorities.

During the Monday commissioners meeting, Klotz was appointed to be the commissioner’s representative on the moratorium committees for battery storage, industrial solar, data processing and carbon capture.