SOMERS, N.Y. - The battle over a proposed battery farm may be over, but the war’s yet to be won, say the Somers folks who recently celebrated the project’s apparent demise.
East Point Energy, the company that planned to build a 116-megawatt battery energy storage system in Carmel, has pulled its application for an interconnection permit, according to Assemblyman Matt Slater.
Among the towns in 94th Assembly District Slater represents are Somers and Mahopac, the two communities that would have been the most impacted by the BESS.
East Point’s application had been filed with the New York Independent System Operator (NYISO), a nonprofit responsible for managing New York’s electric grid and wholesale electricity markets.
Without connecting to the electric grid, there’s no point in a BESS project moving forward.
East Point Energy, a subsidiary of the multinational corporation Equinor, did not return requests for comment last week.
BESS don’t generate electricity, but simply store it and release it when needed.
East Point had promoted the project as one that would support the state’s plan for a “cleaner, more efficient, and resilient electric grid.”
At “peak output,” East Point said, the Mahopac BESS would be positioned to “discharge the electricity necessary to power tens of thousands of homes.”
What Sparked It
The Union Energy Center project was to have been built on 18 acres of a 95-acre lot off Miller and Union Valley Roads on the Somers-Mahopac border.
The location was chosen because of its proximity to a NYSE&G substation and its transmission lines.
Had the project come to be, it would have been nearly six times larger than the state’s biggest BESS complex, according to the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA).
That was a very disconcerting thought to local residents, who had pointed to plant fires in Orange County, upstate, on Long Island, and, more recently, a massive blaze at a 300-megawatt lithium-ion battery installation in Moss Landing, Calif.
They formed “Stop Lithium Battery Storage Systems in Westchester/Putnam, NY!,” pleaded their case on social media and in the press, held rallies, planted yellow signs everywhere, wrote letters, showed up at town board meetings, hired an attorney, and rounded up support from state representatives and local elected officials such as Slater, state Sen. Pete Harckham, Somers Supervisor Robert Scorrano, and Carmel Supervisor Michael Cazzari.
Last fall, the Carmel Town Board, after previously having imposed a six-month moratorium, passed a law that banned large-scale BESS installations but allowed smaller battery packages used at residences and businesses.
Somers did not pursue a moratorium, but in October it amended its zoning code to declare that its definition of public utilities does not include BESS.
Last week, members of the ad hoc group appeared before the Somers and the Carmel town boards to celebrate the news -- with one caveat: the pushback against certain of Albany’s green initiatives ain’t over as far as they’re concerned.
“It’s great that we won. We did an amazing thing coming together as neighbors to fight this giant corporation, but we didn’t win the entire war because the state is hell-bent on pushing these things,” Somers resident Stephanie Azadian said of large-scale BESS, adding that New Yorkers “can’t afford” to stand down at this point.
Strategy
Addressing the Carmel Town Board at its March 5 meeting, Azadian drew its attention to a bill sponsored by state Sen. Brian Kavanagh (D-27th District) that would authorize the permitting – and the streamlining of the environmental review -- of standalone energy storage systems under the auspices of the state’s Office of Renewable Energy Siting and Electric Transmission (ORES).
Many local leaders view this as a frontal attack on home rule.
(The bill is still sitting with the state’s Energy and Telecommunications Committee. It wasn’t known at press time if the state Assembly had taken up similar proposed legislation.)
Cited as one justification for its passage, the bill notes that the state has “set highly ambitious climate and renewable energy goals.”
(The state Public Service Commission last year approved a new framework for the state’s goal of achieving a nation-leading six gigawatts of energy storage by 2030.)
The bill pointed out that because energy storage permitting process “varies across local jurisdictions,” there is an “inconsistency” that discourages BESS and ultimately slows the state’s clean energy progress.
Many local jurisdictions lack the personnel, funding, and/or expertise to handle permitting applications and safety reviews, it said, adding that to date more than 100 municipalities have imposed moratoria on energy storage, which has impacted at least 1,067 projects.
The reason there’ve been so many bans, however temporary, is “that the people don’t want these things,” Azadian emphasized.
By giving the ORES oversight, BESS “can be evaluated at the highest safety levels throughout their design, installation, and operation and in conjunction with the New York State Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code,” the bills reads.
“I feel it’s imperative that we all make our voices heard, that we oppose this bill,” Azadian told Carmel officials.
“It would really stink if all the work that we’ve done gets erased because the state is simply trying to come in and take control of things because there’s too many moratoriums in place,” she added.
Carmel Town Councilman Frank Lombardi thanked Azadian and others for their efforts and urged everyone to “flood” Albany with calls and letters opposing the bill.
“If it starts there, what else are we going to lose control of?” Councilman Robert Kearns asked.
In a video posted on Instagram in last month, Cazzari extolled:
“Victory for Mahopac! Assemblyman Matt Slater has confirmed East Point Energy rescinded its interconnectivity request for the 116kw BESS project. Huge thanks to everyone Stop the LITHIUM Battery Farm in our Backyards in Mahopac NY!!, our friends, and neighbors who spoke up. Together, we made a difference!”
Cazzari told Azadian that he’d mailed her letter along with his to Lee Zeldin, new administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
“And we’ll just keep doing that,” he said, adding: “President Trump, if you’re listening, may you’ll do something about this because (Gov. Kathy) Hochul is killing us.”
Also speaking at the Carmel meeting was Somers resident Roland Ciafrone who thanked the board “for stepping up to the plate and helping residents defeat” the BESS project.
“Job well done,” he added.
More Voices
“This is a positive result for the community,” Slater told Halston Media last week. “It’s a reflection of strong grassroots leadership coupled with great partners in government who heard the people of Somers and Mahopac and fought to get the result our communities wanted.”
However, now is not the time to rest on one’s laurels, Slater thought.
“We have to be vigilant because of the changing landscape in Albany and we have to ensure that our communities remain the decision-makers when it comes to these projects,” he explained.
Cornelius Lane resident Kevin O’Keefe told Halston Media last week that he’s thrilled that the East Point project “has been squashed.”
A Republican who plans to run for Westchester County legislator in District 4, he claimed that the state is “trying to force these renewable energy projects down our throats” and doesn’t seem to care where they’re placed.
Proud of his group’s achievement, O’Keefe noted that it’s been getting numerous requests for guidance about fighting BESS from other organizations from the region and across the country.
“Our group was pretty much at the forefront of this thing; it set the standard,” he said.
Calling it a “big uphill battle” on everyone’s part, Scorrano said he was also relieved that the Mahopac BESS project wasn’t going forward.
One of the things that the town did was to hire a lawyer to advise it if things wound up in court.
“We dug in our heels for our residents and their well-being,” Scorrano said, also pointing to the joint efforts of Carmel and Somers officials and civilians.
“The really nice thing is that the people were heard” and that their elected officials reacted by going “to battle for them,” he added.
Victory Lap
Ciafrone and several other Somers folks reprised the love fest at the Somers Town Board meeting the following evening.
(Ciafrone lives on Lounsbury Drive, less than 200 feet from where the BESS would have been.)
“While this whole thing was going on, he was like a bulldog jumping on a chicken leg,” he said, referring to Slater, who was at the March 6 meeting to give the town an update on the goings-on in “Planet Albany.”
Ciafrone also thanked U.S. Rep. Mike Lawler (R-17th CD), former state Senate candidate Gina Arena, a Republican from Somers, and Republican Robert Ortt, minority leader of the state Senate.
Pointing to the board, he said: “All you folks up there need to be commended for your efforts in bringing this nightmare to an end.”
(Councilman Tom Garrity was quick to point out that he had kept out of any discussions about the project because he is NYSE&G’s regional manager for government and community relations.)
Cornelius Lane resident Michele Stuart had special praise for Scorrano.
“Rob, I know you put this at the top of your to-do list. I think I speak for the people in this town who really didn’t know what was going on. You protected them,” she said.
Also grateful for the help neighbor Paul Harold promised that his group wasn’t abandoning its mission or its hope for continued support.
“Hopefully we’re going to continue going after this with the counties of Westchester and Putnam,” he said, adding with a laugh: “So, you may get a knock on the door one of these days.”
Saying later that the project would have “destroyed” the neighborhood, Harold was in awe of how the fight brought everyone together.
Guy Baker of Lounsbury Drive agreed that intervention from town officials had made a big difference, but also noted that it was the ordinary folks behind the grassroots effort that finally saved the day.
“These guys right here are the ones that did everything. They need our applause,” he said, pointing to the group behind him.
Scorrano returned the sentiment.
The outcome could have been very different without the leadership, commitment, and “tenacity” displayed by the community,” he said, adding that “it just shows you what things can be accomplished in a small town when you have a group of people fighting for a cause they believe in.”
Although he couldn’t talk about anything BESS related, Garrity did weigh in on the supervisor.
“The passion with which he attacks things – to someone who’s been on the board going on 20 years – is incredibly refreshing,” he said, adding that Scorrano, who’s now serving his second two-year term, “doesn’t drop the ball on anything.”
Garrity was also happy to see the board’s efforts recognized.
“People sitting here so rarely get a ‘Good job,’” instead of, he said, a “What the heck are you doing?”
Before resuming work on the regular agenda, board members posed with folks from the audience for a group victory picture.
The win wouldn’t have been possible without Putnam and Westchester folks partnering up, said Azadian later, noting that, while great, it’s just a “starting point” and there’s “a lot more work that needs to be done.”
“We won the battle but we still have to finish the war,” Azadian said.
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