The Town Board is fighting back against a proposed state law it says would take home rule away from municipalities when it comes to the placement of battery energy storage systems (BESS), also known as battery farms.
Mahopac has a history of dealing with battery farms.
With the help of an activist movement made up of residents from both Somers and Mahopac, the town was able to shut down a plan to build a battery storage system on Miller Road. The Mahopac battery farm would have been in close proximity to the Somers border. Residents from both communities pressured the Carmel Town Board to reject the plan. In early 2025, the BESS applicant, East Point Energy, withdrew its plan for the 116-megawatt facility. Shortly after, the board amended the town code to ban battery farms of that size altogether.
But now town officials fear that currently proposed legislation — Senate Bill S5506 and Assembly Bill A8378 — will override the zoning codes and moratoriums established by various towns and villages throughout the state, leaving the decision of where a BESS can be installed to the state Office of Renewable Energy Siting (ORES).
At the board’s Jan. 14 meeting, the board unanimously passed a resolution condemning the legislation and calling on lawmakers to vote it down. The resolution was sent to members of state government, including the governor’s office.
“Once again, Albany is looking to take away home rule from us,” Supervisor Mike Cazzari said. “They are looking to force battery storage systems on us without us having any say in it. If you read the bill, their justification is that the towns and municipalities are stupid and don’t know what they are doing.
“It is really about the safety and welfare of our community, which is why this Town Board put that prohibition in our town code in the first place,” he added.
Cazzari noted that the village of Warwick in Orange County had three battery farm fires between June 2023 and December 2025. That site has since been condemned.
“So now the village has taken away its CO (certificate of occupancy) and put an end to it,” he said.
Councilman Rob Kearns said that with so many municipalities voicing opposition to these projects, he questions the state’s motives behind the proposed legislation.
“It’s so crazy that all these other municipalities jumped on board with what we did (banning battery farms), yet [the state] still doesn’t seem to really care and still wants to shove it down our throats,” he said. “It makes you question who they are serving.”
Cazzari said it is the state that is responsible for creating the need for BESS in the first place.
“They closed Indian Point and created the problem, and now they want us to solve it for them,” he said. “Clearly, they are the incompetent ones.”
The resolution reads, in part:
“Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) have been shown to pose serious risks to public health, safety, and welfare, including but not limited to fires, explosions, toxic smoke, thermal runaway events, and the release of hazardous chemicals.
“These incidents underscore the reality that battery storage facilities can overwhelm local emergency services, expose first responders and residents to toxic conditions, and render surrounding areas unsafe for extended periods of time.
“Senate Bill S5506 and Assembly Bill A8378 would enable the siting of large-scale energy storage facilities through ORES in a manner that may override local zoning laws, emergency preparedness standards, and community-specific safety concerns, despite the fact that local governments are most familiar with their infrastructure, population density, environmental conditions and emergency response capabilities.
“Be it resolved, that this resolution be transmitted to the governor of the State of New York, the New York State Senate, the New York State Assembly, Sen. Brian Kavanagh, and all relevant state and regional representatives, urging them to reject or substantially amend Senate Bill S5506 and Assembly Bill A8378 to preserve local control and prioritize public safety.”
The entire resolution can be found on the town’s website, townofcarmelny.gov, under the Town Board’s Jan. 14 agenda.
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