Carmel imposes moratorium on battery energy storage systems

Carmel’s Town Board has imposed a six-month moratorium on the review and approval of applications and permits for battery energy storage systems (BESS). The action by the board members comes in the wake of protests from residents against a planned BESS on a 94-acre parcel in Putnam County close to the border with Westchester County.

East Point Energy, based in Charlottesville, Virginia, has applied for approval to construct the Union Energy Center on the 94-acre parcel that will have batteries capable of storing electricity until it is needed. The batteries would feed into the New York State Electric and Gas substation and transmission lines along Miller Road and Union Valley Road in Mahopac. The center would be able to store 116 megawatts of electricity, enough to power tens of thousands of homes. A megawatt is one million watts of electricity.

The Town Board said the purpose of the new local law imposing the moratorium is to protect the public health, safety and welfare of the residents of the Town of Carmel. The Town Board said it will use the moratorium to study, analyze and determine potential appropriate revisions and amendments to the Town Code regarding the propriety of Battery Energy Storage Systems.

The board said that the town has significant safety concerns, especially following fire incidents at facilities across the state. It did not specify the incidents to which it was referring. The town planned to study the safety and security of the energy storage systems, including thermal runaway, off gassing and toxicity, ways to prevent fires, and ensure emergency responders have the necessary training and information to prepare and deploy resources in the event of a fire.

The storage systems typically use lithium-ion batteries wired together in large cabinets. Tesla is a major supplier of the battery equipment.

The legislation approved by the Town Board allows property owners or others who might be affected by the moratorium to apply for a hardship waiver.

East Point had said that its project would help bring New York state closer to its stated goal of having 6-gigawatts of energy storage by 2030. A gigawatt is equal to one billion watts of electricity. It says that it would hope to have the Carmel facility in commercial operation in 2027. It said it expected the Carmel facility to be in operation for at least 20 years and that there would be a decommissioning plan for shutting it down at the end of its useful life.