Southampton extends battery energy ban, angering environmentalists
A lithium-ion battery storage facility substation at 18 Cove Hollow Rd. in East Hampton in June 2023. A fire broke out there a month earlier. Credit: James Carbone
Southampton Town has extended a moratorium on new battery energy storage systems for the second time as officials seek more time to bolster safety codes, but over the objections of environmentalists.
The town board on Tuesday voted 5-0 to extend the pause for another six months, leaving the moratorium in place through Feb. 13. By then, 18 months will have elapsed since the moratorium took effect.
A growing number of Long Island towns are weighing or adopting moratoriums on the facilities, as local and state officials raise concerns about the technology's safety.
The lithium-ion batteries complement renewable energy sources such as wind and solar by storing power generated for future use.
But the batteries can face a failure known as "thermal runaway," when they generate more heat than can be dissipated, leading to extremely high temperatures, smoke and fire, according to the Fire Safety Research Institute, a nonprofit affiliated with UL Research Institutes.
“We’re doing our due diligence and we’re going to take the time it takes to get it right this time,” Councilwoman Cyndi McNamara said at the hearing on Tuesday.
Environmentalists say the facilities are needed to support clean energy initiatives and combat climate change.
Jordan Christensen, program coordinator for Citizens Campaign for the Environment, said the nonprofit hopes the extensions do not become a “stalling technique.”
The Farmingdale nonprofit supported the original moratorium but opposes the latest extension, she said during the hearing. The systems are a “critical part of our clean energy transition,” Christensen said.
Several environmental groups issued a statement in response to the extension, writing they were "disappointed" by the town board's decision.
"Six months is prudent; 18 months is clearly stonewalling. This harmful delay strategy puts at serious risk the clean energy benefits that would come from [battery energy storage system] projects," according to the statement from the New York League of Conservation Voters, Long Island Progressive Coalition, Sierra Club Long Island Group, All Our Energy, Citizens Campaign for the Environment, and Renewable Energy Long Island.
The pause continues to freeze a pending application in Hampton Bays. Canal Southampton Battery Storage LLC has proposed a 100-megawatt facility on a 4.9-acre site near a Long Island Power Authority substation. Residents objected to the proposal, arguing it poses a safety risk to nearby homes.
Attorneys for the applicant have asked to be exempt from the moratorium. The board hasn't voted on that request.
The town approved the first moratorium in August when Democrat Jay Schneiderman was supervisor. Democrat Maria Moore succeeded him in January, and in February, the town board approved a six-month extension.
Similar moratoriums are in place in Southold, Babylon and Huntington. Smithtown is also considering a moratorium, while the Town of Brookhaven is welcoming the facilities.
On May 31, 2023, a battery storage site in East Hampton caught fire. It took 30 hours to contain, and the plant returned to service more than a year later, on July 3.
Southampton Town has extended a moratorium on new battery energy storage systems for the second time as officials seek more time to bolster safety codes, but over the objections of environmentalists.
The town board on Tuesday voted 5-0 to extend the pause for another six months, leaving the moratorium in place through Feb. 13. By then, 18 months will have elapsed since the moratorium took effect.
A growing number of Long Island towns are weighing or adopting moratoriums on the facilities, as local and state officials raise concerns about the technology's safety.
The lithium-ion batteries complement renewable energy sources such as wind and solar by storing power generated for future use.
But the batteries can face a failure known as "thermal runaway," when they generate more heat than can be dissipated, leading to extremely high temperatures, smoke and fire, according to the Fire Safety Research Institute, a nonprofit affiliated with UL Research Institutes.
“We’re doing our due diligence and we’re going to take the time it takes to get it right this time,” Councilwoman Cyndi McNamara said at the hearing on Tuesday.
Environmentalists say the facilities are needed to support clean energy initiatives and combat climate change.
Jordan Christensen, program coordinator for Citizens Campaign for the Environment, said the nonprofit hopes the extensions do not become a “stalling technique.”
The Farmingdale nonprofit supported the original moratorium but opposes the latest extension, she said during the hearing. The systems are a “critical part of our clean energy transition,” Christensen said.
Several environmental groups issued a statement in response to the extension, writing they were "disappointed" by the town board's decision.
"Six months is prudent; 18 months is clearly stonewalling. This harmful delay strategy puts at serious risk the clean energy benefits that would come from [battery energy storage system] projects," according to the statement from the New York League of Conservation Voters, Long Island Progressive Coalition, Sierra Club Long Island Group, All Our Energy, Citizens Campaign for the Environment, and Renewable Energy Long Island.
The pause continues to freeze a pending application in Hampton Bays. Canal Southampton Battery Storage LLC has proposed a 100-megawatt facility on a 4.9-acre site near a Long Island Power Authority substation. Residents objected to the proposal, arguing it poses a safety risk to nearby homes.
Attorneys for the applicant have asked to be exempt from the moratorium. The board hasn't voted on that request.
The town approved the first moratorium in August when Democrat Jay Schneiderman was supervisor. Democrat Maria Moore succeeded him in January, and in February, the town board approved a six-month extension.
Similar moratoriums are in place in Southold, Babylon and Huntington. Smithtown is also considering a moratorium, while the Town of Brookhaven is welcoming the facilities.
On May 31, 2023, a battery storage site in East Hampton caught fire. It took 30 hours to contain, and the plant returned to service more than a year later, on July 3.
Joe Werkmeister covers the towns of Southampton, East Hampton and Shelter Island. He is a graduate of St. Bonaventure University and previously worked as the editor of two North Fork community newspapers.
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