Battery storage rules: Kenosha County, WI
Kenosha County Ordinance 13 (adopted November 6, 2024) made utility-scale battery storage a conditional use in the I-1 Institutional district only, on a lot of at least 10 acres, outside the 100-year floodplain and designated wetlands. The facility must be designed, built, operated, maintained and decommissioned to meet NFPA 855, with batteries listed to UL 1973, the system listed to UL 9540 and remote monitoring around the clock. Before a zoning or construction permit, a hazard mitigation analysis must be "completed, approved and shared by the local fire department, Kenosha County Sheriff's Department, and all local emergency responders", and an emergency response plan approved by the local fire chief and the Kenosha County Sheriff Emergency Management Team. On July 7, 2026 the County Board adopted Ordinance 7, a moratorium on accepting applications to operate battery storage and on considering or issuing building permits, conditional use permits and zoning approvals for it, for 12 months from the ordinance's effective date or until an amendment or another ordinance regulating battery storage is adopted and takes effect, whichever is earlier. In September 2026 a developer applied to the Public Service Commission for a certificate for a stand-alone 200 MW battery in the Town of Wheatland (docket 9842-CE-100). The Wheatland (June 22, 2026) and Paris (July 28, 2026) town boards adopted resolutions asking the Legislature to put clear limits on large battery storage and to pause approvals until statewide standards are in place. Ask the county whether your site is under county zoning, when the moratorium ends, and where the amended ordinance stands.
Kenosha County: battery storage moratorium adopted July 2026 (12 months, or until new rules take effect)
Ordinance 7 (July 7, 2026) is a moratorium on accepting applications to operate battery storage and on considering or issuing building permits, conditional use permits and zoning approvals for it, for 12 months from its effective date or until an amendment or another ordinance regulating battery storage is adopted and takes effect, whichever is earlier. Kenosha County Ord. 7 (2026); County Board minutes, May 19 (Res. 6) and July 7, 2026
Fire and building codes in force
- State fire code: NFPA 1, Fire Code, 2012 edition, which governs the use, operation and maintenance of public buildings and places of employment (Wis. Admin. Code SPS 314.001). The chief of every city, village and town fire department (except in first-class cities) is a deputy of the Department of Safety and Professional Services and must provide for inspection of every public building and place of employment (Wis. Stat. 101.14(2)). A municipality may adopt an alternate model fire code that, in total, is equivalent to NFPA 1 (SPS 314.001(2))
- Commercial building code: 2021 International Building Code (SPS 361.05), in effect September 1, 2025; it applies listed parts of the 2021 International Fire Code to design, construction, use and operation (SPS 361.03(14))
- Electrical: 2023 National Electrical Code (SPS 316), in effect September 1, 2026
How a project is permitted
Local zoning decides where battery storage goes: the county, city or village, or the town where there is no county zoning (Wis. Stat. 59.69, 60.61, 62.23). Wis. Stat. 196.491 requires a Public Service Commission certificate of public convenience and necessity before construction of a "large electric generating facility", "electric generating equipment and associated facilities designed for nominal operation at a capacity of 100 megawatts or more" (196.491(1)(g), (3)(a)). The statute does not mention battery storage. The PSC's filing requirements for energy storage projects (April 7, 2026) say: "Proposed projects that would be large electric generating facilities as defined in Wis. Stat. § 196.491(1)(g) require a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity (CPCN) from the PSC." They also ask applicants to "Provide evidence to demonstrate the proposed project would comply with NFPA 855, UL 9540 testing protocols for battery systems." Wis. Stat. 196.491(3)(i) says: "If installation or utilization of a facility for which a certificate of convenience and necessity has been granted is precluded or inhibited by a local ordinance, the installation and utilization of the facility may nevertheless proceed." Ask: is the battery 100 megawatts or more, and has the developer filed with the PSC? Ask the PSC whether it needs a certificate, and how a certificate and 196.491(3)(i) apply to your local rules. Does my county have general zoning, and is my town under it? Which fire code does my fire department enforce, and does the state fire code reach an outdoor battery yard? Ask your fire chief or the Department of Safety and Professional Services.
State permits and reporting rules that may apply
- Ask whether the project has filed a notice of intent for Wisconsin DNR construction site stormwater permit coverage. A landowner who will discharge storm water to waters of the state from a construction site that disturbs one acre or more of land (or less, if it is part of a common plan of development of one acre or more) must file one, unless an exception applies. Wis. Admin. Code NR 216.42(1)
- Ask whether the site, its access road or its power-line route crosses a wetland or navigable water. Discharging dredged or fill material into a wetland needs a DNR wetland permit unless exempt, and placing a structure or material on the bed of a navigable water needs a DNR permit unless exempt. Wis. Stat. 281.36(3b)(b), 30.12(1)
- Ask your zoning office whether the site is on the flood map. Local floodplain zoning must prohibit, in floodway areas, "any storage of materials that are buoyant, flammable, explosive or injurious to human, animal, plant, fish or other aquatic life." Wis. Admin. Code NR 116.12(1)(c)
- Ask who would report a spill or release at the site, and how. Anyone who possesses or controls a hazardous substance, or causes its discharge, must notify Wisconsin DNR immediately of a discharge not exempted by law, through DNR's 24-hour hotline. Wis. Stat. 292.11(2)(a); Wis. Admin. Code NR 706.05(1)
- Ask whether the site will hold hazardous chemicals at or above federal Tier II reporting thresholds and, if so, whether the annual inventory is filed by March 1 with the state emergency response commission, the local emergency planning committee and the local fire department. Wis. Stat. 323.60(5)(c); 42 U.S.C. 11022
Setbacks and spacing
- Utility-scale battery storage, measured from the battery equipment (not the fence) to the property line: 100 ft from any residential land use; 25 ft from agricultural, commercial, industrial, government and institutional land uses Local ordinance Kenosha County Code 12.40.080 (item 14.1(b)); Ord. 13 (2024)
Sources
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