Vacaville City Council unanimously votes to not extend Menard Energy contract
VACAVILLE - The company proposing a massive battery facility to be built in Vacaville will now have to find a new city to call home.
In a special meeting Wednesday night, the city council voted against an extension to continue negotiations with the energy company, siding with thousands of residents.
There's been a lot of interest in this negotiation process as the majority of neighbors did not want this kind of facility to be built so close to homes and neighborhoods.
The city council voted unanimously to not extend the contract with Menard Energy.
The company was proposing a lithium-ion battery storage facility for a site located just east of Leisure Town Road, near a PG&E substation.
It would have also been located near a new housing development and a hospital.
The company said the facility would have banked energy from solar, wind and other resources to use for the power grid, noting that this is an important step towards "clean energy."
However, the company was unable to make neighbors feel the project would be safe.
Many of their concerns were pollution, inextinguishable fires, and technology that could potentially go out of date.
Wednesday's decision would have extended the company's contract with the city, allowing them more time to "win over" residents.
But in the end, there was nothing the company could say to convince residents like Sarah Dunn, who's mobilized opposition to the project over the past year.
"After a year of hearing comments from the public and all of our concerns over about having a battery storage system near our homes, they have listened and I'm very excited here tonight," Dunn said.
"You can tell by the audience tonight, they were clearly not for putting this in the neighborhoods, and the council is not for it either," Vacaville Mayor John Carli said.
Since the decision was made, CBS13 reached out to Menard Energy and is working to get a response.