KCK pushes forward $250M battery storage facility plans, expects to reduce bills
Wyandotte County commissioners on Thursday granted a Texas-based developer’s request for a special use permit and preliminary plan review for a $250 million battery storage facility in Kansas City, Kansas.
Their 8-2 vote, with members Philip Lopez and Chuck Stites dissenting, indicated that most commissioners are on board with the company’s promises to help reduce local energy bills and strengthen the electric grid.
East Side Storage LLC, which is part of company Accelergen Energy, wants to put the facility on a 64-acre property located at 8900 Metropolitan Ave., a largely rural and residential area.
The battery storage facility, designed to store energy from the grid during lower-use times to use during times of higher demand, will sit on about 10 acres near the center of that property. The remaining land will be kept largely untouched in order to maintain its rural aesthetic and fit into the scope of the surrounding area, according to the developers.
The company asked for a 10-year permit that would be subject to three five-year extensions, given the lifecycle of the equipment lasts 20 years. After those 20 years, East Side Storage, and the Unified Government, will consider whether to continue operations or to decommission the site.
East Side Storage has promised to pay at least $27 million in property taxes over the course of those 20 years and pay between $1 million and $2 million in community benefits up front, as well as $50,000 in annual scholarships throughout the term of the project.
And, the company expects the facility will save ratepayers $9 million per year and create $8 million in new local earnings for the estimated 65 construction jobs and seven long term jobs it will create.
During an April 13 meeting, the government’s Planning Commission voted 6-1 to recommend that the full Unified Government Board of Commissioners deny East Side Storage’s requests. They attributed that to the property not fitting the character of the neighborhood, according to board documents.
Even so, commissioners moved forward with the special use permit and preliminary plan review.
How does it work?
Battery storage facilities take energy from the grid that’s not being used during times of low energy demand, like late at night when most people are asleep. Then, those facilities store that energy so that it’s more available during times of high demand, like when people get home from work and school, or when more energy is needed.
East Side Storage would pay the costs associated with building and storing that energy. Then utility providers, like the Kansas City Board of Public Utilities, pay East Side Storage to tap into that surplus.
In other words, the center makes use of energy that’s already being generated and saves it for when suppliers need more. East Side Storage would connect to the electric grid using the BPU’s infrastructure.
The BPU and East Side Storage have not yet struck an official agreement, although the public board has expressed its support for the project, and the two parties are discussing that partnership.
The developer doesn’t expect the facility to create noise, odor or light pollution that would bother neighbors. Given its location, people who live in the area likely won’t be able to see it from their homes, according to East Side Storage.
The facility utilizes clean energy and will not produce any off-site emissions, according to proposal documents.
East Side Storage requested a special use permit on that land, instead of a zoning change that would classify that area for industrial use, so that the land can continue to be used for agricultural purposes when it’s no longer there.
Neighborhood response
Feedback from residents, behind the scenes and in public meetings, has been mixed. The Unified Government has received letters of support from area environmental groups, like the Kansas Sierra Club and RiSE4EJ, as well as property owners that would neighbor the center.
But Planning Department staff have also received letters opposing the storage facility due to concerns of an industrial facility in a rural residential neighborhood. People have also voiced concerns about the risk of the facility setting on fire, increasing tax bills, producing noise and having negative visual impacts that could disrupt neighbors’ routines, among others.
East Side Storage held three neighborhood meetings, one in October, one in January and another in March, in order to field resident concerns. Across all three, about 70 people attended those, according to board documents.
“These kinds of batteries replace deadly fossil fuel pollution with clean/healthy stored (mostly wind) power, make the grid more reliable, reduce electric costs, and bring ~$20 million in tax revenue (though we still have to fight to see that investment lower our taxes/bills for current residents),” Ty Gorman, a senior campaign organizing strategist with the Kansas Sierra Club, wrote in a letter of support.
Fire risk
After residents expressed to county commissioners that they were worried about news surrounding other battery storage centers prone to long-lasting fires, East Side Storage told commissioners that the company plans to use more temperature-stable materials than those facilities used.
Facilities that have caught fire, sometimes for days, often used lithium ion batteries. Lithium ion batteries that contain nickel, magnesium and cobalt (NMC), which are used in many smartphones, can be prone to overheating and catching fire, according to the National Fire Protection Association.
East Side Storage plans to build its facility using lithium iron phosphate batteries (LFP), which it considers safer than NMC lithium ion batteries, the company told commissioners.
Research from 2026, published in Science Direct, indicated that lithium ion batteries can release hydrogen fluoride gas when burned. The gas, when inhaled at low amounts, can cause irritation to the eyes and respiratory system, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. High airborne exposure can lead to death, according to the CDC.
“... lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide (NMC) and lithium cobalt oxide (LCO) cells exhibit earlier thermal runway (TR) onset, greater gas release, and more violent failure than lithium iron phosphate cells,” according to one study cited in that research.
East Side Storage said it is developing an emergency response plan in preparation of any sort of fire, and that it has shared the first draft of that with the Kansas City, Kansas Fire Department. The company has also pledged to pay for any training or certifications required to train the local fire department on how to address fires at its facility.
