{"id":470888,"date":"2025-12-25T14:14:15","date_gmt":"2025-12-25T14:14:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/470888\/"},"modified":"2025-12-25T14:14:15","modified_gmt":"2025-12-25T14:14:15","slug":"exclusive-blakeman-slams-hochul-over-nys-toxic-battery-storage-plants","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/470888\/","title":{"rendered":"Exclusive | Blakeman slams Hochul over NY’s ‘toxic’ battery storage plants"},"content":{"rendered":"

Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman has proposed a statewide halt on \u201ctoxic\u201d battery storage facilities<\/a>, blasting Gov. Kathy Hochul for pushing the dangerous expansion of such sites.<\/p>\n

Blakeman, a Republican candidate for governor, cited last week\u2019s toxic lithium-ion-battery storage fire in Warwick<\/a>, the second blaze at the plant since 2023 and part of a troublesome national trend.<\/p>\n

Battery storage systems enable energy from renewable sources such as the sun and wind to be kept and then released when the power is needed most.<\/p>\n

Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman issued a stoppage on \u201ctoxic\u201d battery storage facilities across New York state. James Keivom<\/p>\n

Blakeman said the facilities are a hazardous part of Hochul\u2019s and the Democrats\u2019 green-energy scam.<\/p>\n

\u201cGovernor Hochul is putting New Yorkers in danger,\u201d he said in a statement to The Post. <\/p>\n

\u201cThese fires show that her battery storage mandates are unsafe for firefighters, EMS, and families.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLithium-ion battery fires can escalate quickly, release toxic chemicals into the air, resist traditional firefighting methods, and place extreme demands on emergency personnel \u2014 especially when water, a standard firefighting tool, can make the blaze worse.<\/p>\n

\u201cBefore we allow any new facilities, we must ensure our first responders are fully trained, equipped, and prepared to handle not only the fire risks but also the toxic chemicals and health hazards these battery fires can release into our communities. There must be a statewide moratorium until these systems can operate safely.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Empire State is aggressively expanding its battery storage systems to meet ambitious goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40% by 2030 and achieve 100% zero-carbon-emission electricity by 2040 under the the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act of 2019.<\/p>\n

Blakeman criticized Gov. Kathy Hochul for wanting to expand the sites while calling the move dangerous. Gabriella Bass<\/p>\n

Since 2019, New York has approved more than 6,000 battery storage projects creating 440 megawatts of capacity, with storage for 1.3 gigawatts already under contract and a stated goal of more to handle six gigawatts by 2030, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency.<\/p>\n

Blakeman emerged as the presumptive GOP nominee for governor to take on Democratic incumbent Hochul after upstate Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik<\/a> abruptly ended her campaign.<\/p>\n

President Trump endorsed <\/a>Blakeman\u2019s candidacy Saturday.<\/p>\n

Rising utility costs and fossil-fuel-free energy mandates have emerged as burning issues for state voters.<\/p>\n

Staten Island Borough President Vito Fossella, a battery-storage opponent, applauded Blakeman for his stance. He said there is one facility in his borough next to a gas station and homes.<\/p>\n

Blakeman is running under the Republican ticket for the 2026 governor\u2019s race. AP<\/p>\n

\u201cHow would you like to live next to a unit like this that catches fire?\u201d Fossella said.<\/p>\n

But Hochul\u2019s office defended the siting of the battery-storage facilities, noting New York recently enacted stringent regulations for them.<\/p>\n

\u201cSafety is the top priority for Governor Hochul which is why under her direction, New York recently enacted among the most stringent battery energy storage regulations in the country that has won support from numerous fire safety officials and experts,\u201d said Ken Lovett, the governor\u2019s senior communications advisor on energy and the environment, in a statement.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs we deal with potential energy shortages as soon as next year, it\u2019s imperative that we take advantage of every opportunity to add power to our grid while ensuring we do it safely, efficiently, and affordably,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhile other states are rapidly investing in storage to stabilize their grids and lower costs, doing nothing risks leaving New York\u2019s economy behind and forcing New Yorkers to pay.\u201d<\/p>\n

Blakeman also opposes offshore wind projects that rely on large-scale battery storage.<\/p>\n

Trump just paused <\/a>five offshore wind-farm projects, including two off the coast of Long Island, citing national security concerns.<\/p>\n

\u201cNew York should not rush into offshore wind mandates until these battery systems are proven safe, our oceans are protected, and taxpayers aren\u2019t left footing the bill,\u201d Blakeman said.<\/p>\n

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But Hochul\u2019s rep said Blakeman\u2019s campaign against wind and energy storage is shortsighted.<\/p>\n

\u201cBlakeman\u2019s opposition to wind projects could cost Long Island and downstate more than 2,600 good-paying union jobs and needed power to help avoid potential energy shortages as soon as next year,\u201d Lovett said. <\/p>\n

\u201cGovernor Hochul\u2019s all-of-the-above approach is meant to ensure there is enough power to keep the lights on and rates down.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman has proposed a statewide halt on \u201ctoxic\u201d battery storage facilities, blasting Gov. Kathy…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":470889,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5122],"tags":[5229,22807,6335,19300,5371,6084,5248,405,403,5226,5225,5228,5227,50056,23912,67,586,132,5230,68,1154,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-470888","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-bruce-blakeman","10":"tag-exclusive","11":"tag-green-energy","12":"tag-kathy-hochul","13":"tag-long-island","14":"tag-metro","15":"tag-new-york","16":"tag-new-york-city","17":"tag-newyork","18":"tag-newyorkcity","19":"tag-ny","20":"tag-nyc","21":"tag-offshore-wind","22":"tag-solar-power","23":"tag-united-states","24":"tag-united-states-of-america","25":"tag-unitedstates","26":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","27":"tag-us","28":"tag-us-news","29":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115780626867945580","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/470888","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=470888"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/470888\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/470889"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=470888"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=470888"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=470888"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}