Somers Continues Preemptive Steps Against Battery Energy Storage Systems

SOMERS, N.Y. - Somers’ recent change to its zoning laws has drawn one line in the sand that town officials hope proponents of battery energy storage systems (BESS) won’t cross.

Reacting to pleas for help from residents fighting a 116-megawatt facility planned for a 95-acre site just over the Westchester-Putnam line in Mahopac and adjacent to a residential neighborhood in Somers, the Town Board held a public hearing on Thursday, Oct. 10, and then voted to amend Section 170-3 of the zoning code to not only define what a public utility is, but to declare that the definition does not include BESS “or similar facilities.”

Since it was the lead agency for State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) purposes, the board also voted to adopt a negative declaration, a statement that the action would not have a “significant environmental impact” and therefore didn’t require an environmental impact report.

The proposed law was circulated to interested parties such as the town Planning Board and the county for review and recommendation. There were no objections, according to the town’s planning consultant, David Smith.

Councilman Tom Garrity, who works for New York State Electricity & Gas, recused himself from both votes as he does with any agenda item involving the power gird and electricity. Councilmen Anthony Cirieco, Richard Clinchy, and Bill Faulkner, and Supervisor Robert Scorrano all voted “yea” to amend the code.

Section 170-3 now contains the following definition of public utilities:

“Any person, firm, corporation or governmental agency duly authorized to furnish to the public, under governmental regulation, electricity, gas, water, sewage disposal and treatment, steam, cable, or communication service. This definition shall not bestow any special status or standing not already provided by state or federal law.”

The definition “does not include battery energy storage systems or similar facilities.”

During earlier discussions on the topic, Smith had explained that while BESS already weren’t permitted uses in Somers, the language change would make the town’s “position even stronger” by created a specific definition for public utilities.

Town Attorney Roland Baroni had pointed out that there was a BESS application from New Leaf Energy pending in Mount Kisco where the applicant was claiming status as a public utility.

This summer Mount Kisco approved a six-month moratorium on BESS projects, bringing a temporary halt to one proposed for North Bedford Road. The idea was to give it time to come up with recommendations for amending relevant local laws.

In July, the Carmel Town Board imposed a similar moratorium on BESS after widespread protests over East Point Energy’s proposed facility off Miller and Union Valley Roads.

Cirieco asked how the Town Board would handle it if a “BESS organization should come before us?”

Baroni responded that it didn’t have to take action, adding: “You could just hand back the petition.”

Clinchy asked for examples of what are considered “similar facilities.”

“Those could be solar farms. Typically, those types of facilities include some sort of batter storage as part of their operation,” Smith said.

Roland Ciofrone, a resident of Lounsbury Drive whose property would be within a few hundred feet of the lithium battery plant, was the only person to speak at the public hearing.

Safety, obviously, is the most pressing issue, he said.

Among concerns raised by BESS opponents are fires, security of an unmanned facility, and the potential negative impact on the environment and home values.

Battery storage proponents say it’s a key element to building a green economy in New York and helping the state achieve its goal of increasing carbon-neutral electrical generation to 70 percent by 2030.

(BESS simply store energy. They do not generate it.)

Supporters say they could help make the power grid more resilient plus reduce the use of fossil fuel burning “peaker plants,” which are deployed during times of high demand and significant weather events in order to head off possible outages.

Ciofrone asked if the newly amended zoning law contained language that would do anything to stop solar farms or “those disgusting windmills that are destroying the countryside?”

Barone responded that windmills currently aren’t a permitted use under the zoning code.