I understand that “green energy” needs to be captured by energy storage systems, and I understand that they are fixtures of the future.
Nevertheless, large lithium battery energy storage systems are clearly industrial and need to be located away from homes and businesses that may be impacted by a battery “accident.” The technology is not perfected, subject to catastrophic accidents, and in fact may be replaced by other battery types currently being researched.
An article on the internet reports that Tesla Corporation is going big time into setting up battery energy storage systems. Accompanying the article was a YouTube video that showed what these systems look like. Pictures show them in areas that are clear of residential neighborhoods.
The Southampton Town Board, on the other hand, has decided that BESSs, no matter what the size, no matter the danger, can be built in residential areas. That is truly incredible. Moreover, the two sites proposed would be in populated areas of Hampton Bays. Another betrayal of the hamlet.
And a Southampton Town official stated at our last Hampton Bays Civic Association meeting that he would be happy to have his home next to a BESS complex. Really?
Your editorial [“Carefully Forward,” June 15] states that the BESSs should be located close to densely populated areas because that is where the electricity is mostly used. That is not necessary. A BESS can be a distance away, feeding the general power grid.
The decision to locate the BESS off North Road in Hampton Bays needs to be reversed.
Philip Metzger
Hampton Bays
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