Battery storage rules: Boone County, IN
Boone County's zoning ordinance (Energy Overlay District, Ord. 2025-18, approved by the commissioners December 19, 2025) covers the unincorporated areas under the Boone County Area Plan Commission. It allows commercial (grid-serving) battery storage "only ... as part of a regulated utility substation," which, the ordinance says, is regulated by IC 22-14-8 and needs Indiana Department of Homeland Security approval. Battery storage that serves the property it sits on is a permitted accessory use in all districts, with a building permit, at most 7 ft tall outdoors, a 7 ft opaque fence, 40 ft side and rear setbacks in the AG district (25 ft elsewhere), no placement in a special flood hazard area, 10 ft cleared of combustible vegetation, and a 45 dBA one-hour average at the property lines. Ask the Area Plan Commission how it applies "regulated utility substation" to a project.
Boone County: grid-serving battery storage only at a regulated utility substation; on-site storage allowed in all districts
The Energy Overlay District (Ord. 2025-18, approved December 19, 2025) allows commercial battery storage "only ... as part of a regulated utility substation"; battery storage serving its own property is a permitted accessory use in all districts. Boone County Zoning Ordinance, Ch. V(D)(4)(b); commissioners' minutes, December 19, 2025
Fire and building codes in force
- 2014 Indiana Fire Code (2012 IFC), effective December 1, 2014; an update to the 2024 IFC is in rulemaking with no effective date
- Utility-scale systems: NFPA 855, 2023 edition, by statute (IC 22-14-8-2, -6), unless the Fire Prevention and Building Safety Commission amends it by rule (none adopted); the Indiana Department of Homeland Security is the authority having jurisdiction (IC 22-14-8-1)
- 2014 Indiana Building Code (2012 IBC); 2020 Indiana Residential Code (2018 IRC, effective December 26, 2019); Indiana Electrical Code 2009 (2008 NEC)
How a project is permitted
Local zoning decides where battery storage goes. A system that can store and release more than 1 MW for at least one hour also needs the Department of Homeland Security's approval: the application includes plans, an emergency response plan and a training plan, with a $250 fee; the Department must give notice of approval or disapproval within 30 days of receiving the application and fee, and must approve an application that complies. Approval to operate needs a commissioning plan and test that comply with NFPA 855. The operator gives the final emergency response plan to the local fire department and offers that department training every year (IC 22-14-8-4, -5, -9). The law exempts a system "used for the purpose of providing electricity to meet or offset all or part of a host operation's energy needs", battery recycling facilities and the manufacturing or storage of batteries by an automobile manufacturer (IC 22-14-8-3(b)). Ask: does my county or city allow battery storage in this zone, and is a pause in effect? Has the Department approved this project, and has the fire department received the emergency response plan and been offered training? Which fire code edition does the fire department enforce here?
Setbacks and spacing
- Accessory battery storage (serving its own property): 40 ft side and rear setbacks in the AG district, 25 ft in other districts; 10 ft cleared of combustible vegetation Local ordinance Boone County Zoning Ordinance, Ch. IV(Y)(3) (amendments through December 19, 2025)
Sources
Check a specific system
For a proposal or a system you're evaluating, answer a few questions in BESScheck: you get the rules that apply here, a checklist of what to ask, and the sources behind each line.