A proposed large-scale battery energy storage project planned for Acton raised concerns from many residents during a recent public meeting hosted by the California Energy Commission.

The meeting, held last Tuesday at the Acton Agua Dulce Library, gave residents a chance to learn more about the Prairie Song Reliability Project, a proposed 1,150-megawatt battery energy storage facility that could be built on privately owned land in the Acton community.

If approved, the project would include containerized battery units equipped with fire prevention systems, along with a substation, inverters, operations buildings and other supporting infrastructure. The facility would connect to Southern California Edison’s Vincent Substation through a new transmission line expected to run between 1.1 and 1.8 miles long.

Many Acton residents who spoke during the meeting expressed concerns about wildfire risk, potential environmental impacts and whether a large industrial project belongs in the rural community.

Catherine Sky Tucker, a longtime Acton resident, said she worries the project could increase fire risks in an area already designated as a high fire hazard zone.

“This project would greatly increase the risk of fire and make it harder to retain homeowners’ insurance,” Tucker said.

Stephen Brock, a retired Los Angeles County Fire Department firefighter specialist, raised concerns about groundwater contamination and whether there would be enough water available if firefighters needed to respond to a battery fire.

“There’s no municipal water supply,” Brock said. “I do not believe that it’s adequate to deal with this type of battery container fire.”

Some residents also said they moved to Acton for its rural lifestyle and worry the project could change the character of the community.

Despite those concerns, several labor groups and economic development organizations spoke in favor of the project, saying energy storage facilities are becoming increasingly important as California transitions to renewable energy.

Drew Mercy, executive director of the Antelope Valley Economic Development and Growth Enterprise, said expanding energy infrastructure could help create local jobs and reduce long commutes for many residents.

“Our community is home to about 500,000 residents, and about 100,000 commute, mostly to Los Angeles,” Mercy said. “Every job we can create up here is a green job because it gets people off the freeway.”

Developers say the project would store electricity from the power grid when demand is low and release it when demand is high, helping stabilize the electrical grid and provide additional capacity during peak demand.

California Energy Commission officials said the project is still in the early stages of review.

“The most important job for the commission is to learn from the applicant and also from all of you,” Commissioner Noemi Gallardo told attendees.

The review process is expected to take about 270 days, with additional public meetings planned before the commission votes on whether to approve the project.

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