The New York City Council is set to wade into the issue of \u201cbattery farms\u201d and their proliferation across the five boroughs amid rising objections from prospective neighbors concerned that the energy-storage facilities pose a fire threat.<\/p>\n
Local energy providers and city officials contend the sites are tightly regulated and a smart, green way to store electricity for use when the power grid is strained. But concern over battery energy storage systems \u2014 known as BESS sites \u2014 has peaked in the wake of a massive fire at a BESS site in northern California<\/a> owned by Texas-based Vistra Corp.<\/p>\n That blaze, in January at what\u2019s billed as the world\u2019s largest BESS, forced the evacuation of more than 1,200 people in rural Monterey County. One energy provider, NineDot Energy, said it has more than 50 projects in the works locally, most of them in New York City, which has some communities pushing back.<\/p>\n \u201c\u200aOur main concern is the dangers of these lithium-ion battery sites,\u201d said Claudia Greco, a resident of Marine Park, Brooklyn, who is fighting against a site set to be built 27 feet from the back of her house. \u201c\u200aThese batteries do catch fire.\u201d<\/p>\n The council\u2019s committee on fire and emergency management is scheduled to hold a public hearing on the issue on Sept. 26 at City Hall.<\/p>\n In a statement, Councilmember Joann Ariola, who chairs the committee on fire and emergency management, said the hearing is an effort to \u201cbetter understand the battery fire environment in New York City, assess how many there currently are and how many are planned in the near future, and address concerns about their placement.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cEarlier this year, we saw a massive fire at a battery storage facility trigger the evacuation of some 1,200 people in California,\u201d Ariola said. \u201cWe don\u2019t want that kind of thing to happen here, and I look forward to hearing from both sides to come away with a more complete picture of the risks these sites pose.”<\/p>\n Karen Alter, a spokesperson for NineDot Energy, said the company adhered to rigorous safety standards and that the sites are critical to the local power grid.<\/p>\n \u201cThis summer alone, NineDot\u2019s seven operating facilities in New York City have already strengthened the power grid during heat waves by providing additional, emissions-free energy when it was desperately needed \u2014 enough to power tens of thousands of NY households for four hours on each hot summer day they were called upon,\u201d Alter said.<\/p>\n In response to the concerns raised by community residents, Amanda Farinacci, a spokesperson for the FDNY, said in a statement that the city\u2019s \u201cfire code for energy storage systems is widely regarded as one of the most robust and strongest in the country.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe test facilities, enforce standards, and prepare for any potential emergencies like no other city, making our regulations the best fire code for energy storage in the nation.\u201d<\/p>\n Fires have occurred at BESS sites in Warwick County, Jefferson County and in East Hampton<\/a>.<\/p>\n Aides to Mayor Eric Adams said there had been no fires related to BESS sites in New York City to date, and that the Department of Buildings and the Fire Department have extensive regulations related to such sites so that they meet strict safety standards.<\/p>\n Supporters pressing their case locally argue that BESS sites are preferable to the status quo.<\/p>\n \u201cBESS systems have the potential to replace dirty \u2018peaker\u2019 plants that belch out toxic pollutants every time they are turned on,\u201d former Councilmember Costa Constantinides and Queens Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Tom Grech wrote in a joint op-ed<\/a> in A.M. New York in June.<\/p>\n \u201cDespite being used only 15% of the time, these \u2018peaker\u2019 plants belch more asthma-causing toxins like the inhalable particulate matter PM 2.5, Nitrous Oxide and Sulfur Oxide, the stuff that gets into your lungs that cause asthma,\u201d they wrote. \u201cThere is no way to make those plants clean or safe for our families to live nearby.\u201d<\/p>\n Federal regulators, however, contend they are closely monitoring the issue nationwide as the Trump administration has signaled a pullback from renewable energy, while endorsing continued reliance on fossil fuels. In an Aug. 18 statement, the EPA noted<\/a> that the state \u201chas been working to expedite approvals of installations of these systems in densely populated areas, especially in New York City and its suburbs.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMany New Yorkers, especially in New York City and on Long Island, have made their voices clear \u2013 they do not want Battery Energy Storage Systems built in their neighborhoods,\u201d EPA administrator Lee Zeldin said in a statement. \u201cResidents are looking across the country where dangerous lithium battery fires at BESS facilities have caused widespread damage, and they are concerned with New York\u2019s partisan push to fill yet another delusional \u2018green\u2019 goal, which the state itself admits it cannot meet.\u201d<\/p>\n