VAN ZANDT COUNTY, Texas (KLTV) – A court hearing has been scheduled to determine the status of temporary restraining order against a battery storage facility in Van Zandt County.
A 48-acre plot of land is being developed for a 100-megawatt battery storage facility owned by a Finnish energy company, Taaleria Energia. The operation involves storing electricity generated by renewable energy, such as wind and solar, then releasing it to the power grid, as needed.
“It’s important because these are people’s lives at stake,” says Kevin Palmer, the Van Zandt County Fire Marshal.
The project is currently at a standstill as Van Zandt County officials say there is still not the proper documentation in place for the lithium-ion battery storage facility to move forward.
“As of now I have no documentation. The stuff that has been tested has failed,” said Palmer.
“The cannot bring batteries into our county. So, if they want this situation changed, then they need to comply,” said Tonda Curry, the Van Zandt County District Attorney.
On April 9, a temporary restraining order was put in place to stop the batteries from being brought in, due to failed testing results.
What was supposed to be a two-week order, has been renewed every two weeks until now.
Now, it’s been set for a July 24th hearing that would lift the order or continue it indefinitely.
The company that owns the Amador BESS gave a statement in an email to us saying that they are working on the documentation.
“The judge has set aside a whole day on the 24th for our hearing if we need it. The company of course says they are going to have us satisfactory documentation before then, so we will see,” said Curry.
If batteries do pass the NFPA codes, Palmer is still concerned about the amount of water available for the county to be able to battle a lithium-ion fire if one is to happen.
“If worst case scenario, which is one thing I have to look at, no it’s not enough water. The calculation, because it comes out of an NFPA standard, I can’t say the NFPA standard doesn’t give us enough water,” said Palmer.
With the proximity to livestock and homes, there isn’t much time contain a fire before disaster.
Palmer hopes that Taaleri Energia puts themselves in residents’ shoes to understand the importance of perfection with safety.
“I told them ‘I want you to pretend that you and your family that you love, lives at that house, and then build me an emergency response plan and hazard mitigation analysis.’”
The hearing on July 24 will determine if the batteries can be brought in or if the restraining order will be in place indefinitely until the group complies with safety standards.
Copyright 2025 KLTV. All rights reserved.
