Gooding County battery project proposal placed on hold

HAGERMAN, Idaho (KMVT/KSVT) — A proposed battery storage facility in Gooding County is now on hold following backlash from the community. The proposed system would have likely gone along Highway 30, near the justice grade in Hagerman. These facilities are typically used to store and distribute electricity to power grids.

Chief Tim Peterson with the Hagerman Fire Protection District is one of the people who spoke out against it. He says his main concern was that the district’s fire crews aren’t prepared to deal with potential hazards related to this type of facility.

“We highly depend on our volunteer staff for response,” says Peterson. “We really never can guarantee how many people we will have on one of those calls. To mitigate that hazard out there, you know it is personnel and equipment. We’d have to get a new level of training.”

Chief Peterson won’t have to worry about that for now, because the company behind the project, Jupiter Power, has put it on hold. In an email sent to KMVT from Gooding County’s Civil Deputy Prosecutor -- the company wrote, “given the concerns from the local community and other commercial aspects of the proposed project, we have made the decision to put this project on hold for the time being.”

We reached out to Jupiter Power for further comment but have not received a response. Gooding County is now taking steps to govern any future power projects. As of last week, the planning and zoning commission was reviewing a proposed ordinance to do so.

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