Plattekill Supervisor Dean DePew Sr. is misinformed when he declares that “lithium battery storage is in my view extremely dangerous,” as he did at an August 7 town meeting. What are the facts?

Utility-scale battery storage is in use in 39 states. Fires are rare but get a lot of publicity. Unfortunately, New York had three battery storage fires in 2023. They caused no outside damage, contamination or injuries, but stoked fear.

In response, Gov. Hochul convened a panel of experts, the Inter-Agency Fire Safety Working Group, to determine how the fires started, how they could be prevented and how to better manage any future fires. For example, one fire was found to be caused by faulty sealing of a battery container, allowing water to infiltrate and cause a short circuit. The working group also tested all of the sites for hazardous substances that might have been released by the fires. They found none.

According to the New York Battery and Energy Storage Technology Consortium, based in Albany, the final recommendations of the working group are expected in mid-2025 and will likely include independent peer reviews for safe design and installation, special inspections to ensure safety compliance, and site-specific training for local responders.
Modern civilization has relied on burning fossil fuels, which we know now are catastrophically heating the planet. We can either accept and manage the risks of new technologies like wind and solar energy and battery storage, wait for unicorns to generate energy, or put our heads in the sand and keep burning oil and gas as the planet burns.

Gov. Hochul has set goals for battery storage in New York, but she must address the community fears and misinformation that are delaying deployments. She has disappointed climate voters this year, but will she redeem her claim to be a climate leader? I hope so