Letters

The world is witnessing temperatures never experienced in recorded history and many other weather-related challenges, which make it clear that adaptation to climate change is essential.

Non lithium-ion green adjacent grid-scale battery energy storage (BESS) can help meet the need to integrate intermittent renewables into grid operations and to offset the need for fossil fuels. Lithium-ion BESS are not suitable, and must not be sited, in, or in close proximity to, residential areas, public gathering places, environmentally sensitive areas, and our bays and waterways.

Identifying a viable solution will be a challenge for the Town of Southampton and the East End as a whole; however, it’s imperative that a community-supported solution be identified that will not put our public safety and environment at risk based on “good intentions.”

I am not a subject matter expert, but I’ve done significant desk research about grid-scale BESS. My legitimate, fact-based sources consistently reference fire safety and fire mitigation, thereby an acknowledgment that there is a known, and real, risk related to lithium-ion BESS. And it’s very clear safety evaluations are inherently subjective, guided by factors such as the evaluator’s experience and expertise, the system owner’s tolerance for risk, and interpretation of safety-related data. The roles of those assessing safety also influence their perspective and priorities.

Technology is evolving. Researchers, many from MIT, are exploring new technologies because of the known fire, sourcing, life cycle, and cost-related issues of lithium-ion batteries. Current alternatives include compressed air/gas storage, pumped hydro (albeit pumped hydro requires specific topography that’s not always available) and gravity storage.

On the subject of sustainability, lithium-ion technology is vulnerable to a single supply chain and the availability of access to critical elements, e.g., cobalt, in some of the most volatile regions of the world. Many raw materials critical to green energy technologies are already in short supply and are extracted through unsustainable and decidedly environmentally unfriendly mining processes. Lithium-ion batteries also have limited lifespans of up to 10 years before needing replacement.

All these and many other factors make these batteries nonviable at grid scale and necessitate the use of alternatives.

There must be a six-month BESS moratorium, which includes the Canal Southampton BESS. During this time, subject matter experts with stellar credentials, and no skin in the game, are to be consulted. After which, transparent information-sharing meetings are needed to report back to our community — who will have a say in how we move forward.

P.S.: I do not reference Wikipedia as a source for my desk research.

Margaret Friedlander

Hampton Bays

Friedlander is a candidate for Southampton Town Trustee — Ed.