After a fire broke out at a battery storage facility in Warwick, the Montgomery Town Board has decided to push off the conversation of the possible construction of one in Walden.

Bay Wa r.e. is a renewable energy company that develops and supplies long-term energy. A few weeks ago, they approached the Montgomery Town Board a second time for the possible development of a Lithium-Ion battery storage facility off of Lake Osiris Road. Director of Development for Bay Wa r.e., Haley Orvedal, noted that they were interested in the site because of its proximity to a large substation and its ability to be hidden.

“It’s tucked back there which is another aspect of the site that we tend to look for; sites that will be as invisible as possible to the community. We know that the visual aspect is often the biggest one we face as a developer for usually solar but even storage. We just tried to be cognizant of the visibility to the community,” said Orvedal.

Naturally, the board had many questions. Town Supervisor Ron Feller asked about the origin of the batteries. “Batteries now are going to be coming from China. Down the road, this is going to be two or three years down the road, are the batteries gonna be coming from this country?” Feller asked.

Orvedal responded, noting that they are competing with the car manufacturers who need the same Lithium Ion, so they can’t say for sure if it will change.

Another key concern, which Feller mentioned was the board’s biggest, is fire safety.

“A lot of education is put into fire safety and the knowledge of what to do and what not to do if there is a fire,” said Orvedal. “If there is an event, we do not open the door because the container itself is going to contain the fire and there’s fire suppression inside the containers. It just takes care of itself.”

After some more questions, including many economic and fire-related concerns, the town decided they would think it over more. Feller planned to negotiate a letter of intent at the next meeting on June 29, which did not happen after news of the fire at the Warwick battery storage facility that’s owned and manufactured by Convergent Energy and Power.

“Due to the recent incident that happened in Warwick, which involves a similar type unit with the batteries going on fire, I’m informed there’s been two, possibly three occurrences in the last week. So, the Orange County Office of Emergency Management is doing a study, and we will try to get some information from them before we proceed with anything that has to do with battery storage,” Feller said at the meeting last Thursday.

In an email, Councilwoman Kristen Brown also stated her concerns after hearing about the fire. “ I have serious concerns with continuing this project forward in any path after this fire that’s in our county,” wrote Brown.

The project for the Town of Montgomery from Bay Wa r.e. was originally presented in September 2022. At the time, representatives with Bay Wa r.e. stated that their goal was to construct a Lithium-Ion battery storage project in the town, which would then provide a “steady stream of revenue for the Town in the form of lease payments over the project’s expected 20-year lifespan as well as 3-4 full-time local jobs.”

The project would also “enhance local electricity reliability and aid in the integration of renewable energy into New York’s grid in service of meeting the state’s carbon emission reduction goals.”