In late September 2023, former Town of Montgomery Councilwoman Kristen Brown proposed that the board ban battery storage facilities from the town code, emphasizing the dangers of battery fires and the strain on first responders to put them out. Almost a year and a half later, after careful consideration and a 12-month moratorium, the board approved Brown’s request and banned battery storages during a special meeting on February 25.

Prior to the decision, the board held a public hearing February 19, allowing attendees to comment on the zoning amendment. Most of the people who spoke during this session were representatives of energy storage facilities, including members of Key Capture Energy and Cypress Creek Energy. They requested the board to reconsider their decision while listing the benefits of energy facilities, the safety measures for these projects, and the growing demands of the state’s electric grid.

“There are a confluence of events that are happening currently that are stretching the capabilities of the electric grid and increasing the likelihood of blackouts and brownouts. These include retirements of older and more costly, less efficient, thermal units, and more importantly, unprecedented load growth that we’re seeing,” said Mike Carella, senior manager of development at Key Capture Energy, describing energy demands. “In the last year alone, there’s been more than a gigawatt of new load requests that have come into the NYISO queue for these large loads. About half of that has been in the downstate region, and the majority of that has been in the lower Hudson Valley region.”

“As you may know, the State of New York has set a target for battery energy storage deployment of six gigawatts by the rapidly approaching deadline of 2030. If local permitting significantly hinders the deployment of battery storage, it could have an unintended ripple effect, setting a precedent for more communities across the state to pursue similar policies,” said Will O’Leary, senior project developer at Cypress Creek Renewables, describing the state’s energy goals. “This could put pressure on the state to conclude that it’s clean energy goals are best achieved by bringing battery storage permitting under state control.”

“Like any industrial facility, emergencies can occur at battery storage sites, but these incidents are rare. Battery storage facilities are designed and tested according to strict national fire safety standards, use state-of-the-art safety equipment, are monitored 24-7 by trained personnel, and have comprehensive response plans,” said Eva Raczkowski, Project Developer at Cypress Creek Renewables, describing safety measures. “At Cypress Creek, safety comes first and always in our development process. We understand the onuses on developers to engage with first responders and to carefully choose selected sites for projects that adhere to the highest safety standards.”

Ultimately, the board still moved forward with banning battery storage facilities from town zoning completely for the time being. As expressed during their February 19 meeting, Supervisor Steve Brescia and his council were very concerned about potential battery fires and the long-term impact they could have on residents and first responders. They felt that neither the town nor state were prepared enough to adequately put out battery fires, and they would rather until new resources and information are available to handle these fires better.

“I think at this point in time, there are too many unknowns about these battery storages, and I don’t believe our fire departments are up to code with them,” said Councilwoman Sheryl Melick. “I just think it’s hazardous for the residents of the town. It’s something we can always relook at during a later date.”

“I concur with Councilwoman Melick, there’s just too many unknowns out there. I’ve read stories in California and evacuations of 1,200 people; there were no noxious or toxic gases, but you still had to evacuate 1,200 people,” Brescia said. “But if there are new innovations down the road and safety measures implemented, we can always reconsider revisiting this.”