Delmarva Power officials are looking to construct a battery energy storage system, or BESS, behind some type of fencing on one of two open lots on 100th Street behind the Worcester County Public Library. This week, council members agreed to move a land swap request to advance the project to a first reading.
Delmarva Power officials are looking to construct a battery energy storage system, or BESS, behind some type of fencing on one of two open lots on 100th Street behind the Worcester County Public Library. This week, council members agreed to move a land swap request to advance the project to a first reading.
The long legislative road to improving energy efficiency in north Ocean City got a little shorter this week.
In a relatively uneventful hearing Monday, City Council members approved a request from Delmarva Power for a land swap that would pave the way for a battery energy storage system — known as a BESS — on 100th Street.
Council members last month approved conditional use permits to build the innovative power provision system on one of two lots behind the Worcester County Public Library. Monday’s approval allows power company officials to swap a lot they own with an identical, adjacent city-owned lot to build the system on the latter.
Members of the planning commission recently gave a favorable recommendation to the swap, mainly because they do not want to see a power substation built on either one, but also because it is better suited for the currently city-owned lot.
City staff members also advocated for that choice, as the property is closer to, and would mesh better with, similar adjacent utility structures, such as the town’s large ground storage water tank, pump house and cellular facilities.
The move would also position the BESS facility, which is not exactly of high aesthetic value, behind the library and out of view of Coastal Highway.
The BESS facility aims to collect energy from an electric grid or renewable power source and store it in banks of high capacity lithium ion batteries. Company officials have said it is a less invasive way to power the surrounding properties than a substation, like the ones at 35th, 69th and 138th streets, and provides a more sustainable energy source for the future.
Delmarva officials have said that they chose this spot in Ocean City and another site in Cecil County to construct units as part of a state pilot program. Initially, the facility was supposed to be built by the end of this month, but officials received an extension to December 2023.
Plans show that the project will consist of the BESS unit, which will house lithium-ion battery racks and related components, an HVAC and fire control system, a backup generator, and electric pedestals. Some type of fencing will also be erected around the structures to help shield it from public view.
If company officials do not receive all of the necessary approvals for the BESS, which includes site plan approvals from the planning commission, they can still build a substation on the property that they own under an approval received in the 1990s.
Delmarva Power proposes system for 100th Street
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