Southampton Town Board Mulls Moratorium on Battery Storage Systems, May Set Hearing Later This Month

Two battery energy storage systems, both in Hampton Bays, have been proposed in Southampton Town. But if a proposed moratorium on the facilities mulled by the Town Board is adopted, they could be the only ones under review for the next six months.

Battery storage systems are part of the state’s new plan to capitalize on “green” energy, storing electricity produced by solar and wind producers, and applications for the new systems are a relatively new phenomenon on the East End.

The proposed pause comes at the request of the Planning Board, according to Councilwoman Cyndi McNamara.

During an April 6 work session discussion, the councilwoman said she asked to discuss taking a pause on reviewing BESS applications due to “a lot of community concern.” Additionally, she said that watching Planning Board discussions, “you see their discomfort.”

While board members are versed in the array of aspects related to site plan and subdivision proposals, assessing BESS isn’t simple, McNamara said. Members feel “pretty ill-equipped” analyzing the potential impacts of the highly technical facilities; they’re unsure of what questions to ask. Members have participated in training offered by the New York State Energy Research and Development Agency, but they want more.

They want to be able to make decisions on their own rather than simply relying on Planning Department staff, the councilwoman related. “They have to make that decision, and I want them to be comfortable making that decision,” the lawmaker said.

Additionally, McNamara spoke of potential environmental concerns, particularly in the instance of a fire at a facility. “Right now, the only way we have to fight these fires is putting tons of water on it. You have to ask, after the fire happens, where does all that water go and what’s in it?” she observed.

Those are all things to be concerned about, Town Planning and Development Administrator Janice Scherer allowed.

“You hear things in the news of fires burning for hours and hours and they couldn’t put it out. How do we contain a fire and make sure some component of the battery isn’t leaking into the ground?” she said.

The town adopted BESS regulations in 2021. In crafting the code, public safety and fire officials were involved in the discussions; the code calls for the creation and review of safety protocols for the utility facilities.

McNamara said that town fire marshals recently attended a symposium on BESS and fire suppression, “and they have concerns.”

“As do our local fire departments,” Councilman Rick Martel enjoined. He wondered if all the Planning Board comments are reflective of what the community is thinking. The noise emanating from the systems, where they can be located in residential areas, and fire suppression are all a big part of their concerns, Martel said.

“If we can get the Planning Board comfortable with this, we stand a chance of getting the community comfortable as well,” McNamara reasoned.

The Planning Board wants to facilitate good projects, Deputy Town Attorney Christine Scalera, the attorney for the planners, said. She emphasized that the board supports the innovative systems, but wants to learn more about them, so they can make educated decisions.

“They’d like to take a pause, just so they can get up to speed and take some more targeted classes to understand exactly what they should be looking for,” Scalera said. “They just don’t know what they don’t know.”

BESS sites can be found around the world, Scherer noted. They’re the most realistic and effective choice to optimize energy storage and management, she said. “We know we need energy storage systems. Batteries are one type of way. We need to confirm the fact that they’re a definite option if you want to have renewable energy.”

Supervisor Jay Schneiderman wanted to know the effect a moratorium might have on current applications.

Just two BESS facilities have been reviewed by the Planning Board so far. Canal Southampton Battery Storage proposes the construction of a battery energy storage unit system greater than 600 kilovolt ampere. If the site plan, special exception permit is approved, the project would entail 30 battery enclosures each with 24 battery modules. The 4.9-acre site located at 24 North Road and 14 Larboard Road is currently improved with multiple cottages. During their meeting on March 9, the board agreed to schedule a public hearing on the proposal for April 27, Scalera said.

The second application, “isn’t an application yet,” Scherer said. The plan to construct a BESS just west of the car wash and across Montauk Highway from Bess Lane in Hampton Bays was the subject of what’s known as a presubmission conference in February. Albany-based Key Capture is seeking approval for the installation of the battery storage system with a new 69kV point of interconnection substation, as well as a separate substation on a portion of the overall 8.25 acres on West Montauk Highway that would be conveyed to the Long Island Power Authority.

An array of questions arose during the conference and the applicant was sent back to provide additional information; a formal application has yet to be filed, Scherer explained.

If a moratorium that pauses acceptance and review of applications is enacted, Canal Southampton could be exempted; the Key Capture plan would not.

When a moratorium is considered, Schneiderman said, “I just get concerned, because we’ve invited people based on our code to make applications. They probably have expended a lot of time and money trying to come up with a proposal that met our code.”

He pointed out that the first application would be crafted to meet the existing zoning code, while future proposals may have to meet a different set of rules.

Speaking to the two current proposals, Scherer said that even if the board changed the code entirely, “we would still permit that one,” meaning Canal Southampton. For the second proposal, she said it would be better to take a pause now before they’re in the formal application stage and have to be exempted.

The idea of a BESS moratorium is not a new one on the East End. Southold Town officials are considering a year-long pause. In Riverhead Town, laws defining and regulating BESS were the subject of opposition during a public hearings last year; they were adopted by unanimous vote last week despite requests for a moratorium from opponents.

Back in Southampton, Town Board members will consider setting a public hearing on a moratorium, possibly six months long, later this month.