South Reno battery project near homes
- Reno City Council voted 6-1 on April 22 to move the Trego Grid battery project toward annexation, advancing a 200-megawatt lithium-ion storage site planned beside South Reno’s Talus Valley neighborhood. - The project would place 256 Tesla Megapack units on about 25 acres near NV Energy’s Mira Loma substation, with the nearest battery unit roughly 445 feet from existing homes. - The project already cleared Reno’s Planning Commission on March 4, and a second City Council reading is next in a broader fight over battery siting near housing. (reno.gov) (rgj.com)
Reno City Council took the first formal step on April 22 toward annexing land for the Trego Grid battery storage project in South Reno. (reno.gov) (rgj.com) The vote was 6-1 on the first reading of an ordinance to annex a 53.49-acre parcel about 0.23 miles northeast of Rio Wrangler Parkway and Antler Ridge Road into the city. (reno.gov) The battery site itself is smaller than the annexation area: roughly 25 acres directly east of the Talus Valley housing complex, next to NV Energy’s Mira Loma substation off South Meadows Parkway. (rgj.com 1) (rgj.com 2) Trego Grid wants to build a 200-megawatt lithium-ion battery energy storage system there. The March 4 planning record described 256 Tesla Megapack units at the site. (rgj.com) (mgrid.org) Battery storage projects charge from the grid when electricity is plentiful and discharge later when demand spikes. Trego Grid told Reno planners the system would help shift power to higher-demand hours using the existing substation connection. (rgj.com) The fight in South Reno is about distance and risk. According to the planning review, the closest battery unit would sit about 445 feet from nearby homes in Talus Valley. (rgj.com) Residents raised questions about lithium-battery fires, emergency response, and noise during the project’s public review. Coverage of the annexation hearing said neighbors and council members pressed developers for details on fire response, monitoring, and sound controls. (citizenportal.ai) (rgj.com) Project backers have pointed to safety systems and code compliance in response. The Reno Planning Commission approved the project’s conditional-use permit on March 4, clearing one major local review before the annexation process moved to City Council. (rgj.com) The annexation vote did not finish the case. Reno said the ordinance was referred for second reading and adoption after the April 22 meeting. (reno.gov) That leaves South Reno with a project that is no longer just a proposal on paper. It is now a live city approval fight over whether a utility-scale battery site can sit a few hundred feet from homes. (reno.gov) (rgj.com)
