In the Town of Montgomery September 26 board meeting, it was reported that Councilwoman Brown proposed that battery storage facilities be removed from the Town’s allowed uses for an indefinite period of time due to the recent incidence of fires at these locations. While these are certainly a concern, the pressing need to make a transition to an all-electric economy must also be a consideration.

As a Climate Smart community, the Town has pledged to take measures to reduce greenhouse gas in order to help meet New York’s climate goals. Moreover, in another action, the Town is supporting the creation of a Solar/Agricultural farm that may possibly alter the prime agricultural uses of that area.

Undoubtedly, there are risks in pursuing these changes, but the greater risk is the catastrophe of impending climate disruptions. We can’t wait for “the world to be better prepared to handle..these incidents.”

Communities must seek out help from Gov. Hochul and our legislative body to assure the safety of these battery installations as they are essential to our climate goals.