Staten Island is not the only area in New York to question controversial battery energy storage sites - SILive.com

Staten Island is not the only area in New York to question controversial battery energy storage sites - silive.com

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. – In order for New York to reach its ambitious climate goals, ensuring that 70% of the state’s electricity comes from renewable sources by 2030, more than 3,000 megawatts of energy need to be stored here within the next seven years.

It’s a move that will drastically reduce our carbon dioxide emissions and generate about 30,000 jobs, the New York Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) has noted, defining energy storage as “essential for creating a cleaner, more efficient, and resilient electric grid.” But it also means that many more battery energy storage systems (BESS) will have to be built and scattered throughout the state.

According to data published by NYSERDA, there were 4,657 energy storage projects in New York state as of Aug. 31, with a total capacity of 323.88 megawatts. A spokesperson for NYSERDA said the majority of the sites outside New York City are “residential back-up battery systems installed by homeowners.”

NYC houses 58 energy storage sites, with the majority of those being commercial facilities, placing 22.85 megawatts within the five boroughs, and Staten Island currently stores most of the city’s energy – 8.72 megawatts over six projects. And an eight-acre BESS slated to be built on Victory Boulevard in Travis, shouldering 650 megawatts of the state’s energy burden, will drastically increase the borough’s capacity.

But the city’s numbers pale in comparison to other parts of the state, particularly Long Island, where 29.02 megawatts are already stored across more than 2,000 projects in both Nassau and Suffolk counties.

“I fully understand these facilities are viewed as essential to the sustainability and reliability of renewable energy and a vital component to achieve the state’s goals of transitioning away from fossil-fuel energy production,” Barbara Blass, a former town councilwoman and longtime planning board member in Riverhead, Long Island, recently told her town board in reference to a zoning amendment that would ease restrictions on BESS construction – similar to the City of Yes zoning amendment that is currently being considered by the City Council for NYC.

“It is how we are planning for them, or in this case, not planning, that causes me to oppose this zoning amendment,” Blass said.

Located on the north shore of Long Island and bounded by the Long Island Sound and Southampton, Riverhead has a population of less than 40,000 and encompasses about 200 square miles, the U.S. Census Bureau noted. It’s a mostly suburban town located about an hour-and-a-half away from NYC, containing a small collection of residential neighborhoods. But a new battery energy storage code was unanimously approved by the Town Board there in April, allowing utility-scale battery energy storage facilities to be built in mostly all zoning districts.

“There’s a tremendous amount of money to be made,” Wading River resident Sid Bail told the Riverhead Town Board at a meeting last spring, noting that the relatively inexpensive real estate available in Riverhead makes it a prime target for proposals intended to serve the eastern Long Island region.

“Getting one of these things started, you sign a 20-year power purchase agreement with LIPA [Long Island Power Authority], and that’s like gold,” Bail said, his comments published by Riverhead Local. “That’s why they can be so generous and helpful to the communities that they’re in. They have lots of money to spread around.”

Residents have expressed concerns that there will be “a proliferation” of the facilities all over Long Island, prompting community leaders to propose a moratorium on battery energy storage system facilities following fires at BESS facilities in New York state this summer.

But according to NYSERDA, the bulk of BESS outside of NYC are not large-scale commercial storage facilities, but rather residential back-up systems installed on homeowner property.

“It is important to note that, outside of New York City, where building codes have more restrictions on residential lithium-ion battery storage, the vast majority of the projects deployed across New York state so far -- around 4,514 out of 4,657 ... or 97% -- are residential back-up battery systems installed by homeowners,” a NYSERDA spokesperson said. “Only 60 of the 4,657 operating projects are larger-scale commercial storage facilities over one megawatt in size. As the state works toward achieving its nation-leading climate goals, we expect more large-scale deployment, but anticipate the majority of battery systems deployed will continue to be in the residential sector. However, we cannot predict the exact composition of projects that will be installed over the next seven years.”

But Staten Islanders are fighting to keep BESS systems away from their properties: After several borough homes were razed to make room for colonies of the solar-powered pods, and utility-scale energy facilities were surreptitiously dropped in next to gas stations and proposed for school zones, Community Boards voted against their proximity to storefronts, and elected officials issued a moratorium on BESS applications filed within residential districts. In one instance, an energy developer retracted plans to place batteries in a Bulls Head church parking lot.

But according to New York Independent System Operator (NYISO), an organization responsible for managing New York’s electric grid and its competitive wholesale electric marketplace, hundreds of BESS sites are currently proposed for interconnection in New York state -- meaning those developers have applied for their structures to be connected to the grid. Dozens of those sites are located in the NYC area and several are here on Staten Island.

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