Perhaps one of the most salient topics in Suffolk over the last couple years has been that of Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) facilities.
These facilities hold lithium batteries capable of harnessing energy and dispersing it to the grid in times of blackouts or grid strain due to high electricity usage, particularly during the summer months.
The State has been keen to roll these facilities out, with proponents arguing they’re necessary for sustaining the grid while broader concerns are addressed. Opponents say the technology is too new and firefighting capabilities have not yet evolved to combat lithium fires. At present, there is no conventional method of extinguishing these fires. Letting them burn themselves out is the only option, and that process can take days or weeks depending on the size of the fire.
A proposed site on Weeks Avenue in Manorville has caused Senators Anthony Palumbo (R-New Suffolk) and Dean Murray (R-East Patchogue) to urge Governor Kathy Hochul (D-Hamburg) to pause the plans on this facility. The proposed facility is a 150MW lithium-ion storage facility developed by Key Capture Energy (KCE) on a 4-acre portion of a 13-acre light industrial site. It’s adjacent to a LIPA switchyard.
“When it comes to the question of safety at these BESS facilities, there are simply too many important questions that have yet to be answered and I’m not willing to move forward without those answers and gamble with the safety of my constituents,” said Senator Murray in a statement. “God forbid a fire does break out at this massive facility, our firefighters need more of a plan than, “let it burn”, which is the state’s official policy for such fires.”
Local officials have even more reason to call for the brakes on BESS facilities after a 5MW facility in Wainscott caught fire in 2023. Contamination of at least three wells has been linked to that fire. The County announced in early October that the developer of that facility, NextEra Energy, has suspended operations at two East End locations.
“Following the battery energy storage system (BESS) fire in East Hampton and the subsequent contamination of the area’s drinking water, I believe it is prudent to pause further construction of battery storage facilities in Suffolk County,” said Senator Palumbo in a statement. “That pause should last until a thorough review is completed, and safety measures are strengthened to better protect the region’s drinking water and Long Islanders.”
KCE is the same developer that pitched a 79MW facility in Hauppauge, which led to vocal opposition from the community, a Town Council-led ban on large-scale BESS facilities in the Town of Islip, and the ascension of the Hauppauge Fire Department to be a de facto regional leader on the issue.
While KCE, based in Houston, Texas, is the developer behind the project, the State is involved in the project through funding and contracting. The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) chose the Manorville project, while Governor Hochul selected this site as one of eight BESS projects as part of her initiative to deploy 6,000MW of energy storage across the state by 2030.
The Town of Brookhaven has no blanket moratorium on BESS facilities. KCE is also behind a 50MW, LIPA-contracted facility in Shoreham on the grounds of the former nuclear site. A large-scale, 110MW plant in Holtsville (Savion Energy) continues to face zoning issues, while a separate, 79MW plant is also proposed in Holtsville (Rhynland). Savion Energy is also exploring large-scale facilities in the Setauket-Port Jefferson Station area.
Another 1.9MW facility in Patchogue, developed by Agilitas Energy, is slated to come online by the end of this year or early next year. A 100MW Medford facility has also been proposed by AES.
Seven towns – Babylon, Huntington, Islip, Riverhead, Smithtown, Southampton, and Southold – have extended their moratoria on these facilities until large concerns have been addressed.
