Smithtown imposes 3-month pause on battery storage systems

The Town of Smithtown approved a three-month ban on building large battery energy storage systems, joining a growing number of municipalities to regulate the technology.

The Smithtown Town Board voted 5-0 last week to enact a moratorium on new battery energy storage systems for a three-month period. The town proposed a six-month moratorium over the summer.

The lithium-ion batteries complement renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar, by storing the energy for future use. Fire officials say the systems can overheat and combust and want to wait until the state strengthens its fire codes before future projects are approved.

Environmentalists say the facilities are needed to help support clean energy initiatives and reverse the effects of climate change.

In May, the Smithtown Fire Chief’s Council asked the town to enact a six-month moratorium to provide enough time to study safe ways to contain fires caused by lithium-ion batteries. 

Smithtown Supervisor Ed Wehrheim said the town had wanted to enact a six-month pause. But he said the Suffolk County Planning Commission would only allow Smithtown to pass a three-month moratorium. A Suffolk County spokesman did not say why the town couldn't seek a six-month ban. 

"I don't know if [local fire districts] will have the information that they need in three months, so we'll go back and make the request to the county," Wehrheim said.

Adrienne Esposito, executive director of the nonprofit Citizens Campaign for the Environment, said she understands the reason for the moratorium so long as it isn't used as a tool to block battery storage sites indefinitely.

"A municipality may need a little bit of time to put in the proper codes and to do their due diligence," Esposito said. Such projects are "essentially needed in the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy."

Esposito criticized Southampton Town's decision in August to extend its moratorium by six months. By the time that extension ends in February, the ban will have elapsed 18 months.

Ongoing extensions block battery energy storage systems when communities "drag their feet in order to avoid assigning the new technology," she said.