Why storage developers are engaging communities six months before zoning

Battery energy storage system developers are encouraged to prioritize early-phase permitting and community acceptance, as local opposition is increasingly viewed as a leading financial risk for projects.

May 5, 2026 Ryan Kennedy

Image: Wikimedia Commons / Z22

A wave of local pushback and new bans is forcing battery energy storage system developers to change their strategy. Shawn Shaw, the founder and chief executive officer of Camelot Energy Group, told pv magazine USA developers are increasingly focused on securing permits for projects.

One out of every four communities now has some kind of rule or ban that slows down clean energy projects. Shaw said he has noticed that developers can no longer take for granted that they will get a permit. He says that “permitting approvals are no longer assumed in development and have now moved up to the top 2 or 3 stage gates in the development process.” If you can’t get the neighbors on board, the project doesn’t exist.

The market is already reacting to this new reality with hard cash. Data from Enerdatics shows a huge gap in what projects are worth. The price for a project in the very early stages has dropped significantly. Such projects used to sell for up to $20,000 per MW, but now they often go for less than $10,000. On the flip side, projects that have already finished the permitting process are more valuable than ever. Their price has jumped by about $20,000 per MW because the hardest work is already done.

Shaw warns that “too many developers rush the process and try to get approvals before the community knows what’s happening.” Even if a developer wins once using these tactics, it makes it nearly impossible for the next company to build in that area.

Smart developers are now starting their outreach much earlier, said Shaw. They are talking to locals six months to a year before they even turn in a permit application. This might mean helping the town write its own rules for batteries or holding open meetings to answer questions.

Shaw says the vibe of the meeting matters more than people think. He suggests that “the moment the developer acts like an out-of-town bigshot trying to take advantage of the community for a quick buck, they have lost the thread.”

To win people over, developers are using Community Benefit Agreements. These go way beyond just paying local taxes. These deals often include money for the town to hire its own experts to check the project. They also include training for local fire departments and payments to neighbors for any inconvenience. It is about proving that the developer is going to be a good neighbor for the long haul.

Safety is still the biggest reason people fight these projects. Shaw says that battery fires are actually very rare. They happen in about 0.3% of systems every year. That is about the same rate as fires in houses. But the public doesn’t see it that way. Most people only hear about the few big fires that make the national news, like the fires at Moss Landing in California.

“If a battery system has a thermal event and the safety features work as intended, it rarely makes the news,” Shaw notes. He points out that this creates a skewed perspective where “to a concerned citizen, 100% of the battery fires they know about are catastrophic.” This gap is widened by an industry that often relies on dense, technical language that fails to bridge the trust gap. While standards like UL 9540A provide vital safety data, Shaw argues that these results are often too complex for non-experts to easily interpret. He believes the burden is on the industry to translate this technical rigor into clear, accessible information that addresses community safety concerns head-on.

Shaw said developers need to show that these systems are built to fail safely inside their containers. He says developers should “work with high-quality suppliers who have completed large-scale fire testing” and be ready to answer tough questions with real depth.

As the industry grows, the winners will be the companies that can talk to communities with honesty and clear facts, said Shaw.

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