Dunkirk will be holding a public hearing regarding a proposed Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) on September 16 at 5 pm in the town hall – one of many such BESS hearings that will occur around the county.

New York State Governor Hochul has issued more incentives for building lithium Ion Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) throughout New York State. (PJ July 29 “Hochul Announces Bulk Energy Storage Solicitation”). The state justifies the need for BESS because wind and solar are intermittent – claiming that sporadic energy produced by wind and solar must be stored in batteries.

Battery Energy Storage System installations are not just expensive and a wasteful use of rare materials, they can and have resulted in catastrophic thermal runaway fires.

Several New York towns recognize the danger of thermal runaway BESS fires and have passed laws prohibiting their installation. These towns include Amsterdam, Montgomery County; Duanesburg and Princetown, Schenectady County; Rush, Monroe County; Glen, Montgomery County; Somerset, and Royalton in Niagara County.

The Rush, NY BESS Law states: “Article II Section C (2) Large Scale Battery Energy Storage System Installation shall not be permitted in any zoning district within the Town.”

Other towns create zoning laws with protective restrictions such as requirements for safe setbacks, requirements that components not contain PFAS (forever chemicals), be made in the United States and recycled – not discarded as toxic waste.

The South Ripley BESS installation safety protocol in case of fire calls for an evacuation radius of seven miles.

Numerous thermal runaway BESS fires have occurred in New York – Lyme, East Hampton, Warwick, Chaumont. Many more have occurred across the country and the world resulting in plumes of toxic gases and forcing evacuations.

A BESS thermal runaway fire emits hydrogen fluoride, methane, ethylene, hydrogen methane and heavy metal particulates.

In the Moss Landing, California thermal runaway fire January 16, 2025 many residents were forced to evacuate. They suffered chemical skin burns, burns to nasal passages, eyes, lungs. Heavy metal contamination of soil has been observed in nearby environmentally sensitive sites.

A Bess site will include 50 to 250 semi tractor-trailer size units connected to the grid with a cost of about $1 million per MW of storage – possibly $250 million per site. The electricity storage time is just a few hours. It does not produce electricity but rather sucks up electricity from the grid when there is an abundance at low rates – then returns it to the grid at much higher rates when energy production is low.

In February 2025 more than 75 residents attended a public hearing regarding a BESS proposal in Hanover. They were overwhelmingly opposed to the project due to concerns for the health and safety of their community. Residents expressed alarm at the many recent thermal runaway fires and toxic gas plumes occurring at battery energy storage facilities in New York, Arizona, California and elsewhere.

One former Hanover firefighter said, “BESS has a bad track record. The developers are just crossing their fingers – consider the toxicity of hydrofluoric acid.”

Electricity production such as tried and true natural gas, hydro, and nuclear are reliable, dispatchable, economical – available 24/7. None of these need any electricity storage.

Each BESS facility has a short lifespan and is constructed using rare, expensive raw materials sourced and processed using huge amounts of fossil fuel. BESS fires cannot be extinguished with water as the Hydrogen and Oxygen in H2O simply become more fuel. BESS fires require 24-hour on-site monitoring for days to spray down nearby containers to cool them and keep the fire from spreading. On-site volunteers spraying water 24 hours a day for days means reducing fire coverage for neighboring areas putting nearby residences and businesses at risk.

BESS components must be transported and disposed of as hazardous waste. Where will the massive quantities of unrecyclable and toxic materials in BESS be disposed of?

Developers have claimed to have eliminated the possibility of fires. More fires have occurred. We have no reason to believe new claims.

BESS can poison the ground, poison our wells, pollute our rivers and lakes while costing residents more in taxes and utility bills. The real costs and dangers that BESS sites will pose to our rural communities must be considered. Is the risk worth it?

Karen Engstrom is a Mayville resident.