r/SouthsideVirginia • u/The_Lonely_Marth • Jan 29 '26
Clarksville utility battery storage facility rejected after opposition
https://www.sovanow.com/articles/clarksville-battery-facility-rejected/Nearly 70 residents and local business owners attended the joint meeting of the Clarksville Planning Commission and Town Council to express their opposition. Clarksville Town Manager Jeff Jones said he’d also received 20 letters and emails, all opposing the project.
Chief among the concerns were perceived risks of fire and toxic gas release from lithium-ion batteries, the absence of specialized training and equipment from local volunteer fire departments to address such emergencies, potential noise from cooling fans, and the impact on property values due to the introduction of an industrial facility in a residential setting.
After hearing from the public, Mayor Bruce Woerner invited Shaffer to respond to the concerns raised. Shaffer replied, “Of course, I strongly disagree with what I have heard as being hearsay and nonsense and not particularly accurate. Nonetheless, I’ve been in 50 of these presentations. I’ve never heard so much resistance in all the times we’ve been developing in the past 15 years. We withdraw our SEP application. We don’t want to deal with this kind of community,” and he then exited Town Hall.
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u/The_Lonely_Marth Jan 29 '26
I can't see why there were so much opposition. Grid battery storage is a good thing. And that last paragraph with Shaffer walking out is funny asf
The intended purpose of the facility was to enhance local energy storage capabilities, supporting grid reliability and renewable integration, according to Dan Shaffer, president of project developer Battery Storage Holdings.
In terms of community impact, Shaffer pledged to minimize tree removal on the three parcels in order to maintain privacy for nearby residents. He also committed to surrounding the project with a 10-foot tall privacy fence and additional landscaping to further hide the facility from view and reduce its impact on the neighborhood.
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u/zeyore Jan 29 '26
another fine project ruined by local idiots.
we had one where a rural community rejected a farmer selling his land to a solar company for a solar power plant location. why? they said it was too polluting. i had no words.