Dubois County reviews emergency response plans for AES battery site

Dubois County commissioners spent part of their meeting digging into a question many residents have been asking for months: if there is a battery storage incident at the AES site, what exactly is the county’s plan?

The discussion centered on emergency response planning for the Crossvine project, along with plume study results that are meant to show how smoke, heat or other hazards could spread in a worst-case event. For county officials and first responders, the issue is no longer just whether the project should be built. It is how fire departments, emergency managers and nearby communities would protect people if the battery system ever experienced a fire or thermal event.

That concern has stayed sharp because the project site sits near places where children and families spend their days. In earlier public comments, residents told commissioners the proposed location was within about two miles of Southridge High School and Middle School, Holland Elementary and Huntingburg Elementary. The project is also tied to neighborhoods south of Huntingburg near Holland, where any emergency could quickly become a public safety issue.

AES Indiana’s Crossvine proposal was approved by the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission on April 22, 2025. The company has described the project as an 85-megawatt solar development paired with an 85-megawatt, four-hour battery energy storage system on about 437 acres. AES has said it expects the project to power about 14,500 homes and finish construction by mid-2027.

But the county’s discussion showed that technical approval has not settled local unease. Dubois County has no countywide zoning, a limitation residents and officials have pointed to as they push for more control. Petitions with more than 100 signatures were delivered to commissioners in November 2025, and later presentations brought the total to more than 273 signatures as concern grew among residents and some public-safety professionals.

The current focus is whether emergency planning is keeping pace with the project’s advance. Indiana Department of Homeland Security guidance says operators of utility-scale battery energy storage systems must provide responding fire departments copies of emergency response plans and offer annual training. National Fire Protection Association research has also warned that lithium-ion battery storage systems still pose unresolved fire-safety challenges, including toxic gas release, explosions and the possibility of re-ignition after a fire appears to be out.

For Dubois County, the practical test is clear: if something goes wrong at the Crossvine site, responders will need a plan that is specific, current and ready to use. The county’s review of AES materials and plume data suggests officials are trying to get there before they ever need it.