Last night at the CSMH School Board meeting, AES revealed the actual scope of what they are trying to build across from CSMH. We now know the following:

📍 Confirmation of Proposed Land: The land directly across the street from CSMH is currently protected green space/agricultural land. The landowners have already agreed to this project. 🚜

🏗️ Massive Scale:

• The facility will cover 40 acres—roughly the size of 30 football fields.
• It will house 250 lithium-ion battery containers on-site, 40 ft in length. 🔋🔋
• 7 ft High with a fence around it

⏳ Duration: 25-year lease. 

This facility will be there for the entire childhood and young adulthood of every student currently at CSMH, and for the communities long foreseeable future.

📅 State Approval Timeline:

Permitting: 2026-2027
Construction: 2028–2029

⚠️ Planned Road Closure: AES confirmed that during the 2-year construction phase, they will likely need to shut down one road on the school’s side of Monterey.

Traffic Surge: An expected 112 construction workers daily will add heavy industrial traffic to our already strained commute. 🚧

🛡️ The Safety & Security Gap:

• No 24/7 Monitoring: Despite 250 high-voltage containers, AES admitted there will be no personnel on-site after normal business hours. 🌑

Non-Answers on Evacuation:

• AES referenced their Long Beach facility (Alamitos Energy Center) as an example of one of their sites that also happens to be located directly across from an elementary school.
• When asked if that school shares our “One-Exit “Evacuation trap, AES answered: "Every site is different."
• When asked what AES’s safety plan would be they didn’t have an answer.

Safety Plan "Too Early": They offered zero solutions for how 650 children can safely evacuate a "Right-Turn Only" bottleneck during a fire or during construction, stating it was "too early in the process" to develop safety plans. 🚩

⚖️ Corporate Contradiction: AES’s website states their #1 value is "Safety First" and "Being a Good Neighbor." They also claim compliance with local practices and legal requirements.

However: This site does not align with those values. AES is using the "Opt-in" process to allow the California Energy Commission (CEC) to override local zoning and land-use restrictions.
This protected green space would be legally off-limits to them otherwise. 🛑

🗳️ Our Asks at the Meeting:

• On behalf of our 1,900+ community members, we asked the CSMH’s Board to formally oppose this project and notify the state that an industrial hazard blocking our only exit creates an unmitigated Life-Safety risk that outweighs any potential benefit.
• Finally, we asked AES directly—if a fire happens and our schools only exit is blocked, how does this site align with 'Safety First' for our community?
• We asked them to do the right thing: withdraw this application and find a location that actually honors their companies values. 

What Now: 

• The CSMH Board does not have the authority to approve or reject this project- they are not the decision makers. They only have the ability to formally oppose it. 
• The CSMH Board asked AES if they still plan to move forward with the application if the board opposes it. AES replied that the SJ Fire Department still has to approve.
  • In other words, if the SJ Fire Marshall approves this project, AES will move forward with their formal Application process through the CEC despite the safety risks & concerns.

At this point, the San Jose Fire Department are the only ones who can approve or reject this. AES confirmed that the SJ Fire Marshall is aware of the project.

The SJ Fire Marshal has the authority to deny a permit if the site cannot provide "adequate emergency access”. 

If the Fire Department approves, the process moves to the State for final fast-tracking. 🚨 

Our School & Community need your help now more than ever! Please share this update and take a minute to share your concerns with our SJ Fire Department referencing the AES Monterey Road BESS Project! ✍️🤝

Bureau of Fire Prevention line at (408) 535-7750

Deputy Fire Chief/Fire Marshal: james.dobson@sanjoseca.gov

Fire Chief: robert.sapien@sanjoseca.gov