What SB 283, Requiring Early Fire District Review, Means for Your Battery Energy Storage System Projects
On October 6, 2025, Governor Newsom signed Senate Bill (“SB”) 283 into law, enacting additional requirements for new battery energy storage system (“BESS”) projects in California. The bill follows in the wake of the recent BESS fire at Moss Landing and requires BESS facilities to seek fire district review prior to submitting development applications and again before project operations. The new requirements take effect on January 1, 2026, and apply to both standalone BESS projects and BESS facilities that are part of larger energy projects and proceed under the California Energy Commission’s (“CEC”) opt-in certification program or through local permitting processes. SB 283 is the latest in new requirements for BESS projects, including recent changes to California Public Utilities Commission General Order 167, and the enactment of SB 1383 and SB 38.
Projects under the CEC Opt-In Program
For qualifying projects proceeding under the CEC’s opt-in certification program,[1] SB 283 requires new applicants to certify that, at least 30 days prior to applying to the CEC, the applicant met and conferred with the local fire authority and sought input on mitigating potential fire and life safety concerns and the content of emergency action plans required by Section 761.3 of the Public Utilities Code.
For opt-in projects, SB 283 requires the fire authority to respond within 30 days of the applicant’s request. If the fire authority declines to meet or does not respond to the request, the applicant may submit its opt-in application to the CEC with documentation of its efforts to coordinate local fire review.
SB 283 also imposes new requirements following project approval. Prior to commencing operations or use of the batteries, SB 283 requires that the energy storage system be inspected by the local fire authority. Similar to the early coordination process, SB 283 imposes a deadline on fire review, and if the inspection has not occurred within 90 days after the notice of completion of system installation, the CEC may authorize BESS operation.
Projects subject to Local Permitting
SB 283 imposes similar requirements for BESS projects exceeding 10 megawatt-hours and proceeding through local permitting processes. As part of an application to a city or county for a BESS facility, the applicant must certify that at least 30 days prior to submitting the application, the applicant met and conferred with the local fire authority regarding potential fire and life safety concerns and the content of emergency action plans required by Section 761.3 of the Public Utilities Code. Notably, for projects seeking local entitlements, there is no associated deadline for the fire authority to respond to the meeting request. Although not specifically stated, we anticipate that applicants who cannot get a response from local fire districts could provide documentation of their efforts and move forward with submitting their application.
SB 283 also mandates that local jurisdictions require, as a condition of approval, that prior to commencing project operations, the BESS be inspected by the local fire authority. Again, there is no associated deadline for the inspection process; however, fire district review already is required during the building permit process, so this requirement appears to codify existing procedures.
Additional State Fire Marshall Requirements
Finally, as part of the next update that occurs after July 1, 2026, to the California Building Standards Code, SB 283 directs the State Fire Marshal to consider proposing provisions to restrict the location of BESS facilities to dedicated-use noncombustible buildings or to outdoor installations. These potential Building Code amendments would be consistent with recent safety reports and market trends for large BESS facilities in the state, which typically are constructed as outdoor installations.
If you have questions regarding SB 283, please do not hesitate to reach out to the authors or any of Cox Castle’s renewable energy experts.
[1] The CEC’s opt-in program is available to solar photovoltaic and terrestrial wind energy powerplants of 50 megawatts (“MW”) or more and energy storage facilities of 200 megawatt-hours (“MWh”) or more.
