State and county leaders are joining residents in opposing plans to build an energy storage facility in Kendall County.

Key Capture Energy, an Albany, N.Y.-based company, has proposed building a battery energy storage system on an 8-acre site near Comfort, a town of about 2,200 people 15 miles northwest of Boerne. 

Battery energy storage systems act as giant batteries for power grids, serving to store electricity produced during nonpeak times so it can be fed back into the grid during times of greater demand. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which manages the state’s power grid, has encouraged the building of these facilities throughout the state. 

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Key Capture Energy said the facility will be able to store 100 megawatts of energy and will create 30 to 50 jobs during its 18-month construction period.

Key Capture Energy has applied to Kendall County for a tax break for building the facility.

Residents have been expressing opposition to the facility for months, alleging it will be a fire hazard and a danger to the Hill Country ecosystem. Other residents expressed concern about the noise levels the facility could produce.

The Kendall County Commissioners Court recently voted to amend the county’s current fire code to include more stringent guidelines for energy storage projects, a move County Judge Shane Stolarczyk called “an insurance policy” for the residents of Comfort.

State Sen. Donna Campbell and state Rep. Ellen Troxclair, whose districts includes Kendall County, have both written letters to Key Capture Energy officials asking them to reconsider their plans.

In a Feb. 18 letter to Key Capture Energy CEO Brian Hayes, Troxclair called the project “mis-aligned.” Her letter cited the area’s limited water supply in the event of any potential fires, the small size of the local volunteer fire department and the project’s site on a dead-end road as reasons for concern.

“I understand that all technical requirements have been met, and that the project may move forward despite the concerns of the count commissioners, the local residents and myself,” Troxclair wrote. “Please know that I will be looking for changes to state law next session to ensure that counties have stronger input into developments that impact the safety of their residents.”

Troxclair also wrote to East Point Energy, another company considering Kendall County as a site for an energy storage facility, calling that project  “inappropriate” for the county. 

Kendall County residents have for months been expressing opposition to both projects at Commissioners Court meetings. Dozens showed up recently for a town hall-style meeting held in Comfort about the Key Capture Energy project.

Kendall County resident Julianna Lindner said she had spoken to other residents in the Hill Country who live near energy storage systems and said they complained of constant noise. She urged the court to adopt stricter fire code measures to try to stop the facilities from being built in Kendall County.

As long as property owners are abiding by existing zoning ordinances, Texas cities and counties can’t prevent them from doing what they want with their property. All the county can do is negotiate for more favorable terms, Precinct 4 Commissioner Chad Carpenter said.

“You know what happens when you try to stop them?” he said. “They sue right through you and we end up spending taxpayers’ money trying to defend ourselves for something we didn’t have the right to do to begin with.”

Carpenter said no harm would come from adopting the stricter fire code. He also blamed the federal government for allowing foreign business interests to increase their holdings in the United States. Key Capture Energy is a subsidiary of SK E&S, a South Korean company involved in many aspects of the energy sector.

“I think our U.S. government needs to be called out on this right now,” Carpenter said. “We have to stop foreign-owned businesses from transacting business in our country. This is ridiculous.”

Key Capture Energy declined to make a company executive available for an interview.

In an email, company spokesperson Chris Linsmayer said: “Key Capture Energy prides itself on being a valued and trusted member of the communities where its projects are located and appreciates the community feedback that has been shared.” He said the company “is considering the next steps and looks forward to a constructive dialogue in the months ahead.”