Stop Battery Energy Storage Systems
(BESS) on Long Island
What You Need to Know About the RAPID Act
The New York RAPID Act, or Renewable Action Through Project Interconnection and Deployment Act, was passed by the NYS legislature in 2024 as part of the State budget. The stated purpose is to streamline and expedite the environmental review and permitting process for major renewable energy facilities and major electric transmission facilities in New York State.
More than likely, it was buried in the budget bill because the public outcry against this act would have been intense. Why? Because it eliminates local control over zoning and permitting for these facilities.
Another bill was just proposed - Senate Bill (S5506) - that would extend this authority to BESS battery storage facilities, as a way to circumvent local BESS moratoriums.
While the Act claims to preserve local input and environmental safeguards, the reality is that it does not. The Act allows ORES (Office of Renewable Energy Siting to supersede local laws found to be "unreasonably burdensome" relative to CLCPA targets, the project's environmental benefits, and public need. (CLCPA is the Climate Leadership & Community Protection Act.)
What all that means is the NYS is setting up to force the permitting of battery storage and high volage lines across Long Island and all of New Yor State even if it is against the wishes of the local community.
Call Your State Senators and Legislators and ask for help. How they respond (or don’t respond) will tell you all you need to know about where they stand on the issue. If they won’t help, then they need to get un-elected. That is the goal. This legislation was allowed to slide past unnoticed, buried in the much larger budget bill, but if we start calling, they can’t hide any longer!
Don't know who, or how, to call?
Click this link for a list of all Long Island NYS Senators and Assembly persons and how to contact them.,
We need your consent to load the translations
We use a third-party service to translate the website content that may collect data about your activity. Please review the details in the privacy policy and accept the service to view the translations.