Our purpose is to educate Long Islanders and local and state government about the inherent risks in using current lithium battery technology for BESS facilities. 

The picture above is a burning, 300MW Battery Energy Storage Facility (BESS) known as Moss Landing, in California. 

Despite a 'state of the art' fire suppression system and despite meeting all codes, and despite the fact that the operator 'assured' County Officials that such a fire 'could not happen'. On January 16, 2025, it happened. The fourth, and most serious, fire at the faculty in the last five years! On February 18, the facility spontaneously reignited!

The repercussions from this fire are still being sorted out. Because the smoke’s composition was unknown, the County of Monterey Emergency Operations Center issued guidance to residents in the area who could see or smell smoke that included 'staying indoors' and 'wearing a well-fitting respirator' (as if everyone had a well-fitting respirator lying around).

Toxic fumes; primarily hydrogen fluoride (HF), which, when mixed with water, becomes hydrofluoric acid, and is capable of burning skin and lungs. In addition, heavy metals, such as cobalt, nickel and manganese were dispersed as far as 8 miles from the site of the fire. 

The (very late) response to the Moss Landing fire have been calls for the State to cease permitting and approving BESS facilities until the technology matures to a point of actually being safe.  

Lithium Ion battery technology is inherently flawed because it uses  a combination of combustible materials that when ignited create a self-sustaining fire that is nearly impossible to extinguish. Small fires, such as electric bikes and cars, are bad enough, but at this scale, batteries present a clear and present danger to residents within an 8 to 10 mile radius, as at Moss Landing.

New York has already passed legislation that copycats California legislation which eliminates local control and zoning (the RAPID Act) for high voltage wires and a new bill was recently introduced to over-ride local zoning control for battery storage facilities. That means that despite local concerns, the State could allow the 275MW facility to be constructed by Jupiter Power in Glenwood Landing, or anyplace else it desires, without local input.  

We urge NY State officials to not make the same mistake that California made and is now regretting in the wake of the Moss Landing fire.