A battery storage plant could come to Escondido [Video]

SAN DIEGO COUNTY, Calif. — A battle is brewing in North County over a Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) facility proposed for a 22-acre site just outside the City of Escondido in unincorporated San Diego County near Palomar Hospital.

“The ludicrous idea of putting an energy facility like this in the middle of residences is absolutely ridiculous,” said Drew McSparron, whose home sits behind the proposed site in the Eden Valley neighborhood. 

Residents are pushing back, gathering 2,500 signatures on a petition to stop the Seguro Battery Plant and lining Country Club Drive with dozens of signs adorning phrases like “Stop Seguro” and “AES Sacrifice Zone.”

“It’s ridiculous to put this toxic bomb in this valley,” said an unnamed resident to CBS 8 Thursday. “If you look around the valley, it’s a small valley. It’s surrounded by homes.”

The developer …