Dixon has not received an application for either a data center or battery energy storage system project, but city officials are trying to put a planning process in place in order to be ready if it happens.

DIXON, CA (MPG) - Dixon officials are considering extending a moratorium on data centers and battery energy storage systems through the end of September 2027.

The matter will be discussed at the Dixon City Council meeting set for 7 p.m., Nov. 3, at Dixon City Hall. Officials will look at extending the 45-day temporary moratorium passed in late September for an additional 10 months and 15 days, according to a legal advertisement placed in the Independent Voice by the city of Dixon.

“Testimony from interested persons will be heard and considered by the City Council prior to making any decision on the application,” according to the legal ad.

The meeting will be open to the public, and all individuals can participate remotely, as well.

The moratorium is designed to give the city time to study potential impacts involving water and energy use, along with the effects of noise and emissions, connected with data centers and battery energy storage systems. 

Dixon has not received an application for either a data center or battery energy storage system project, but city officials are trying to put a planning process in place in order to be ready if it happens.

Data centers, which can vary in size and purpose, are physical structures that run large numbers of computers securely and continuously. Battery energy storage systems store energy for later use with the idea of boosting grid reliability and supporting renewable energy sources such as solar and wind. 

The effort to impose a moratorium was prompted by recent City Council discussions regarding Dixon’s regulations and ability to manage specific types of development, as well as a noticeable statewide increase in the development of data centers and battery energy storage system facilities. 

These include the Corby Battery Energy Storage System project proposed by NextEra Energy on 40 acres near the intersection of Kilkenny Road and Byrnes Road in Solano County, just west of Dixon, and efforts by Middle River Power of Chicago to build two battery energy storage systems on 10 acres in Vacaville, called the Vaca Dixon Power Center project.

The Dixon Municipal Code currently does not identify data centers or battery storage systems as permitted uses. When a proposed use is not defined, city officials must classify it as a use substantially similar in character to a listed use. 

Absent specific regulations for data centers or battery storage systems, Dixon faces uncertainty in processing, entitling and conditioning proposed project sites. 

An applicant could, for example, seek to classify a data center as similar to a utility or telecommunications facility, whose standards were not designed to address the electricity, water, noise and infrastructure impacts of large-scale data centers.