Letters

The upcoming March “Express Sessions” topic is “BESS Technology Is Green — But Is It Safe?”

Lithium-ion grid-scale battery energy storage is not green, nor are batteries for EVs, as they are considered hazardous waste. To avoid greenwashing, I suggest using the term “green adjacent.”

And asking, “Is it safe?” is a very loaded question. In addition to environmental safety issues, this technology introduces risk to both life and property, and insurers know there’s a brave new world of risk management for them and their customers.

Lithium is a component of certain technologies referenced as “clean energy,” but growing large-scale mining of the minerals required negatively impacts ecosystems and communities. As societies undertake the transformative task of building new zero-emissions energy systems, some level of mining is necessary, but the volume of extraction is not a given. Neither is where mining takes place — who bears the social and environmental burdens, or how mining is governed?

Caroline White-Nockleby, a Ph.D. candidate studying renewable energy transitions, says, “Historically and today, lithium mining has disproportionately affected low-income and marginalized communities, and has also often impacted lands with cultural importance to indigenous communities.” She also states that we can also make it easier to mine lithium responsibly, if we find ways to build a new clean energy economy with less lithium.

Let’s also keep in mind that the U.S. electric grid, largely built to accommodate coal and gas plants, is becoming a major obstacle to efforts to fight climate change. And the man in the Oval Office and his cronies don’t believe in climate change, so there’s that.

Energy storage can help meet the need for reliability and resilience on a grid, but lithium-ion must not be the only option. Alternatives to lithium-ion grid-scale BESS are a must.

Our Town Board, candidates running for elected office, and members of the Southampton Town BESS task force must continue to educate themselves and not rely on representative proponents of lithium-ion BESS for their sole source of information. Below is a short reading list:

• MIT News Nov 21, 2024: A nonflammable battery to power a safer, decarbonized future.

• MIT News April 27, 2023: Flow batteries for grid-scale energy storage.

• Energy Storage News, February 21, 2023: Diversifying a US $200 billion market: The alternatives to Li-ion batteries for grid-scale energy storage.

• The New York Times, June 12, 2023: Why the U.S. Electric Grid Isn’t Ready for the Energy Transition.

• Climate & Community Institute, January 2023: Achieving More Mobility With Less Mining Report.

• EPA: Lithium-Ion Battery Recycling Frequently Asked Questions.

Margaret Friedlander

Hampton Bays