BARKER – The Somerset town board has approved a moratorium on the development of renewable energy systems that utilize battery storage.
The board unanimously agreed to a six-month halt to town processing of any applications for permits related to solar and/or wind energy projects that have battery energy storage systems.
While the board did adopt a local law regulating such installations in 2022, town Supervisor Jeff Dewart said the board is taking action on battery storage systems that other local municipalities, including the towns of Royalton and Wilson, took in the wake of a July 2023 incident in Lyme, Jefferson County, where four lithium battery storage trailers caught fire at a Convergent Energy solar installation.
“We’re waiting to see who’s going to come in and say, ‘Look, this is how to put a fire out.’ We’ve got nothing other than to let it burn or surround the grounds for hours. That’s all we got. That’s why we’re doing this,” Dewart said.
He previously said that in the interim, “a few companies” have been soliciting the town to seek approval to implement renewable energy facilities that would utilize battery storage systems.
Those who spoke at Wednesday night’s public hearing were overall in favor of the town board’s move to halt the development of such systems in the town.
Somerset resident Jim Hoffman hopes that the board re-examines the existing law over the course of the six-month moratorium.
“It’ll give us a chance to update our law, and a lot has happened since we wrote that law, and the state apparently has taken some looks and has some guidelines on how to cope with lithium iron battery fires,” Hoffman told the board. “The bottom line is there’s no way to fight them other than to let them burn out. And that creates a lot of issues and a lot of problems. Does our fire company have the skills and equipment to deal with that?”
Dewart said that over the six-month period the board does not have any plans to change or draft any new local laws related to battery storage, but may look to extend the moratorium by another six months when the current one expires.
Resident Betty Wolanyk also said she supported the moratorium, noting the lack of firefighting skills and equipment to handle any potential lithium-ion battery fires.
“I’m against lithium-ion battery storage for commercial purposes. I think it’s way too dangerous and I think ongoing fires even within the state indicate that that’s the case. I only wish the moratorium were longer than six months,” Wolanyk said.