Protect Our Land.
Protect Our Homes.
Protect Our Children.
Fight BESS Texas (FBT) is a 501c3 Tax Exempt non-profit. We are a citizen run organization battling multiple industrial sized lithium battery facilities and poorly planned solar farms directly threatening our community here in Gillespie County. One of them within 300 yards of a school and the other on contributory creeks and aquifer, to our drinking water. Foreign companies are exploiting our community from afar while legitimately endangering our lives. It is time to put a stop to this!
Learn The Facts
Understanding the important facts is essential for making informed decisions that impact our lives and communities; by arming ourselves with knowledge, we empower not only our individual choices but also unite in a collective voice.
Engage Your Rep
Engaging with your public representatives is a powerful way to make your voice heard and advocate for your community’s values and needs; by reaching out to them, you can share your concerns about local issues, like the impact of the proposed solar facility.
Stay Informed
Join our community of informed citizens and be the first to know about critical updates and actions that impact our fight for a sustainable future in Texas. Sign up for our newsletter to receive timely information, insights, and opportunities to be heard!
Donate To The Fight
Your contribution is more than just a donation; it’s a lifeline in our battle to protect Texas from reckless energy projects. By choosing to support our cause, you empower everyday citizens like you to stand up against corporations that threaten our way of life.
Funds/Services Raised ($)
Volunteer Hours
Legal Costs Covered ($)
72% of BESS facilities have shown system level defects that could lead to fatal consequences.
Major Issues with BESS Projects and Solar Farms
in Texas – Particularly in Gillespie County
Fire Hazard
The potential fire hazard associated with Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) facilities is a grave concern that could spell disaster for our homes, farms, and cherished wildlife. Imagine a single spark igniting a blaze that transforms peaceful landscapes into raging infernos, threatening the very lives of our families and beloved animals, while also jeopardizing the safety of our community. The risks are not just theoretical; thermal runaway incidents in lithium-ion batteries have already sparked devastating fires in other states, releasing toxic fumes and impacting nearby residents’ health. We must protect our homes and livelihoods from the looming threat of such calamitous events, as the aftermath could mean the loss of not only property but also irreplaceable lives. Join Fight BESS Texas so that we can defeat these, together!
Water Contamination
Water contamination poses a significant threat to our communities, as chemicals from industrial activities, agricultural runoff, and improper waste disposal seep into our water supplies, compromising the health of our environment and the safety of our drinking water. Even small amounts of harmful substances can have devastating effects on aquatic ecosystems, wildlife, and public health, leading to long-term consequences that are not easily reversed. As residents of Gillespie County, we must recognize the urgency of this issue and advocate for strict regulations and robust monitoring systems to protect our vital water resources from contamination. Together, we can raise awareness and support initiatives that prioritize clean, safe water for our families and future generations.
Toxic Releases
Failures in lithium-ion battery storage systems can release dangerous chemicals and toxic fumes, which pose immediate health threats to local residents through respiratory problems and the risk of long-term exposure, while also jeopardizing property by risking contamination. These lithium batteries emit Hydrogen Fluoride when ignited, which will literally burn right through your flesh, as well as hundreds of other carcinogens into the air, ground and water around the facility. Many of these toxins permanently contaminate all three of those natural resources for up to a 200 mile radius. They burn so hot and are so toxic, that investigators often can’t even access the site to determine cause, for months or even years afterward depending on the severity and size.
Environmental Destruction
The extensive clear-cutting of vast areas will devastate local wildlife habitats, lead to stress on the ecosystem, and potentially pollute our water resources, fundamentally changing the rural landscape we cherish. Additionally, this practice could accelerate the spread of oak wilt, further jeopardizing our natural environment. One of the specific properties in question in Gillespie, would clear cut over 1,000 acres containing historic live oak trees, not to mention creating massive swathes of impervious cover. Due to the location and geography of the area, this could quite literally lead to major flooding issues and mud slides, as well as marring the beautiful nature the Hill Country is known and loved for.
Stormwater Runoff
This undertaking will span an impressive 800 acres, positioning it as one of the largest construction projects in Gillespie county in over fifty years. The alterations to the stormwater runoff from this development will significantly affect four local watersheds and streams.
Property Value Loss
Industrial solar and battery projects significantly diminish property values in the surrounding areas, leading to unexpected financial burdens for homeowners. These installations have been linked to rising homeowner insurance costs and may even result in the complete loss of insurance coverage as well. Property values are effectively guaranteed to drop in the immediate surrounding land, and can often negatively affect prices for 10 miles away or more. One neighbor, should not be given the right to destroy the value of property and homes that many worked their entire lives for here in the Hill Country. If protecting the investment of your home and property is important to you, then you need to stand up and fight back. Join us to stop these projects in our county and beyond!
Hydrogen Fluoride
Hydrogen fluoride is a colorless gas that poses severe health risks, making it one of the most dangerous chemicals in industrial use. Even in minute quantities, it can cause serious harm, penetrating skin and tissues to cause painful burns, respiratory distress, and even life-threatening injuries. Its acute toxicity and ability to linger in the environment mean that accidental releases can lead to widespread contamination and dire consequences for both human health and the ecosystem. For those living near facilities that handle this chemical, the potential for exposure raises significant safety concerns, emphasizing the need for stringent regulations and safety protocols to protect our communities and the natural landscape we cherish.
Read more about the bio-effect of Hydrogen Flouride written by Jim Rotgé, PhD (Physics)
Insurance Costs
View & Noise Pollution
Fight BESS Texas is committed to raising awareness about the effects of battery energy storage systems, including concerns about view and noise pollution. Did you know that every single battery in every single container of these BESS systems requires fans and ventilation? Think of hundreds of thousands of fans, akin to the noise of household vacuum cleaners, running day in and day out all the time. It’s enough to drive someone insane and has been documented to cause serious side effects to those who live nearby. Many homeowners near these have to use earplugs just to sleep every night, and can’t have a conversation with someone on their own porch due to the noise. Our local airport pilots would also be affected by massive glares coming off the panels, obstructing their view. This goes without saying what 800 acres of panels would do to the beautiful Hill Country view.
Where this affects us Directly
Harper BESS Project
Located within 300 yards of a K-12 school with 633 children currently enrolled, the proposed solar panel Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) facility endangers young lives, as a fire could require evacuation within a mere 100 seconds to prevent almost certain fatalities. Our community strongly opposes this reckless project, which threatens catastrophic harm due to the high risk of lithium-ion battery fires that can rapidly escalate into uncontrollable blazes, releasing toxic fumes and overwhelming evacuation efforts for our vulnerable children.
The impracticality of safely evacuating 633 students in under two minutes, combined with the facility’s proximity to classrooms, makes this location utterly unacceptable. Join us in demanding a safer future for our kids and community.
Marshall Springs Solar and Bess Facility
This proposed project is located on Marschall Spring/Creek (often referred to as Marshall Springs in the official documents including the misspelling). Approximately halfway between Fredericksburg and Willow City, it is at the headwaters of multiple contributory creeks feeding the vital Trinity and Edwards-Trinity Plateau aquifers, critical sources for the Pedernales River watershed. This proposed 1,000+ acre solar and battery energy storage system (BESS) facility threatens to irreparably poison our community’s drinking water and the downstream lifeline to San Antonio, where millions rely on these pristine groundwater resources.
Our community vehemently opposes this dangerous development, as construction runoff, solar panel runoff, potential chemical spills from lithium-ion batteries, and toxic fire plumes could leach heavy metals and contaminants directly into the fragile recharge zones, rendering the aquifer unusable for generations. This could spark a public health crisis from contaminated wells to municipal supplies, not to mention the air pollutants in a fire disaster. With San Antonio’s 1.5 million residents downstream at risk of tainted water for drinking, agriculture, and recreation, this shortsighted project prioritizes profits over people. Join our urgent campaign to halt this project.
Counties Threatened
Mile Radius Affected
Residents Directly Affected
Affected Area
Potential Impact of these BESS Projects
This isn’t pearl clutching and hysterics. The truth is that if these facilities catch on fire, then the impact will span over 200 miles, stretching into the west side of Austin and the North side of San Antonio. The creeks and water flows under threat by these two projects, would be directly affected by a catastrophic event. We aren’t talking about a few livestock getting sick. We are talking about permanently poisoning the drinking water of MILLIONS of people, including residents of the Texas state capitol.
The Marshall Springs project sits above a creek tributary and on the head of 4 different creeks known as an aquifer “recharge zone.” The Harper project, sits only 30 yards away from a tributary head water of the Pedernales River, one of the most critical river ecosystems of South Central Texas. Join Fight BESS Texas and voice your concern over these irresponsible projects!
Join The Fight - Email Your Reps
Fill out this form and reach all of your representatives at the same time. Instead of looking up who you should contact (which you can still do here) and then calling or writing to each person, simply fill out this form and click submit. Your form will then be sent to all of the appropriate representatives and contacts at once. Amplify your voice through the Fight BESS Texas team and let it be known that we will not go silently into the night!
Letter To Representatives
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Help Save Texas
We are all everyday citizens fighting to protect our families and communities. This requires massive legal resources, specialists, consultants and a huge amount of time, effort and funds to push back on these huge corporations and their cronies. Join us in the fight by contributing to the cause. Every single penny goes directly to helping us protect Texas.
Fight BESS Texas – Concerned Citizens Fighting For Our Future
We are neighbors, families, and concerned citizens of the Hill Country, uniting to protect our community from the harmful impacts of the proposed 1,200-acre Marshall Springs Solar Farm and Battery Storage Facility, as well as the Harper Battery Storage Facility, located just 300 yards from Harper School, which serves more than 600 students. While we support renewable energy, these projects are dangerously oversized, poorly planned, and sited in the wrong place. We must act now!
Find Out Who Represents you
See who your local leaders and representatives are so that you may call or contact them directly. Let them know that Fight BESS Texas sent you!
