Following an outcry by residents and local officials, plans to create a battery storage energy facility in San Juan Capistrano have been put on pause.
Compass Energy Storage submitted an application to the California Energy Commission in 2024 asking to construct a battery storage facility on land currently owned by Saddleback Church near the city’s border with Laguna Niguel.
Representatives for Compass Energy originally asked the city for permission to move forward with the facility, but after city officials rejected the project, Compass Energy turned to the state instead.
Battery energy storage systems are generally viewed as a positive step toward clean energy solutions since the batteries can help store and provide surplus energy, helping reduce the need for additional fossil fuel generation at high-demand times.
But storing that much energy locally also raised safety concerns.
South Orange County residents have spent the past several years largely opposing this proposed facility due to its location near homes, schools and high fire-risk zones.
[Read: Proposed Battery Storage Site in South Orange County Sparks Wildfire Concerns]
While the project has been under intense scrutiny from community members and local officials about fire risk, air pollution, landslides and access issues, Compass Energy decided to suspend its application with the California Energy Commission as new site options are evaluated.
Renee Louise Robin, director of permitting and planning with ENGIE North America — the parent company of Compress Energy — submitted a letter to the California Energy Commission on Dec. 22, 2025, explaining the application suspension.
“This decision is being made because certain commercial aspects about the current site, along with resource adequacy and market changes, have influenced the economic viability of the Project, requiring us to re-evaluate the location,” reads the letter. “We will renew efforts to identify an alternative location to implement our existing transmission position, including by evaluating whether conditions have changed at alternative sites that would render one or more viable for the Project.”
In a response to that letter from the California Energy Commission, state representatives acknowledged and accepted the request to pause.
“As such, the Compass Energy Storage Project is suspended, and CEC staff will discontinue any work on the project until such time as the suspension ends,” reads the response letter dated Jan. 12 and signed by Drew Bohan, Executive Director of the California Energy Commission.
Orange County transportation representatives have previously submitted comments noting concern about the project due to erosion along Oso Creek and risks involving the nearby railroad. They’ve emphasized concerns with significant creekbank instability and erosion next to the rail corridor.
San Juan Capistrano representatives also put out a statement confirming there is “no path forward” for the battery storage project at the Saddleback Church site and re-emphasized reasons why that location isn’t right for this kind of project.
“The City submitted formal comments, coordinated with regional partners, and identified critical deficiencies related to public safety, environmental impacts, evacuation constraints, emergency access, and effects on major regional transportation corridors, including Interstate 5, the 73 Toll Road and regional rail infrastructure,” reads the statement, dated Dec. 23, 2025.
“Additional concerns included significant site constraints such as an eroding creek, a history of landslides and wildfires, limited access across an at-grade rail crossing, and proximity to residential neighborhoods and schools,” it continues.
San Juan Capistrano Mayor John Campbell thanked Congressman Mike Levin, Senator Catherine Blakespear, Assemblywoman Laurie Davies and Supervisor Katrina Foley for standing with the city and advocating for residents.
“What mattered most throughout this process was protecting our community and ensuring local voices were heard,” Campbell said in the statement. “From the very beginning, the City took this proposal seriously, conducted a thorough analysis, and spoke up when it became clear that this project posed unacceptable risks and could have caused irreparable harm to our community.”
The project suspension comes after local community college board members decided to nix an agreement with Compass Energy that would have provided nearly $1 million to support students if the project at Saddleback Church had been approved by the state.
[Read: Proposed Battery Storage in South OC Leads to a Nixed $750,000 College Grant]
It also comes after Orange County Supervisors voted on an ordinance during their meeting on Nov. 4, 2025, laying out updated requirements for battery energy storage facilities in unincorporated areas, including special permit requirements and excluding the projects from very high fire hazard severity zones.
Angelina Hicks is the Voice of OC Collegiate News Service Editor. Contact her at ahicks@voiceofoc.org or on Twitter @angelinahicks13.