Plan to build one of the nation's largest battery energy storage sites on Staten Island is scrapped

A controversial plan would build one of nation's largest battery energy storage sites near homes on Staten Island. 

The sites are critical to New York's push for cleaner energy, according to the state, but how and where they're built remains a flashpoint. 

We first brought you the story last May. Now there's been a major update that may have an impact on other communities, as well. 

Residents concerned about battery energy storage plans

"I thought, I think it's a done deal because there's big money involved, and we're just little folks in the community," Staten Island resident Debra Bostwick said. 

Last spring, homeowners like Bostwick told CBS News New York they were blindsided by the state's approval of plans to build one of the largest battery energy storage sites near their homes along Victory Boulevard in Travis. The site would store surplus energy and discharge it into the grid during periods of peak demand. 

The proposed project by Chicago-based developer Hecate would store 650 megawatts, which is large enough to help New York meet 10% of its 2030 storage goal. 

The state said the approval process included a public hearing, but some residents claimed they didn't get notice. They raised concerns about battery fire risk, and pointed to the Moss Landing battery plant fire in California, and other battery-related fires in New York in recent years, none of which were at Hecate facilities. 

We took their concerns to Gov. Kathy Hochul. 

"I was so, so thrilled"

By summer, Hecate told regulators the project was terminated, with no reason given. CBS News New York has reached out to the company, but hasn't heard back. 

"Euphoric. Euphoric is the term," resident Angelita Rios-Kobryn said. "I was so, so thrilled. I started making calls ... I was like, there's no project. It's been cancelled." 

State records show Hecate missed a deadline to submit a legally required decommissioning plan. The project was then scrapped. 

"Safety is always a layered thing"

Professor Dan Steingart, co-director of the Columbia Electrochemical Energy Center, is a researcher who tests, builds and breaks batteries. He says batteries do not release toxic chemicals and, if something goes wrong, systems shut down. 

While extremely rare, the fire risk is real, however. A battery can catch fire on its own or, more likely, be caught in the path of one.

"Safety is always a layered thing," Steingart said. "And so you design the system so that it has boundaries and metal, so that the fire doesn't want to cross ... there's also sprinklers everywhere."

And if people are concerned about having a battery energy storage site next to their house?

"Reach out to me with those concerns ... ask their local representatives to work with the FDNY to show that, yes, there is enough room between their house and the fire, should something happen," Steingart said. 

"None of them are the same"

"On Staten Island, we have the entire West Shore, which is an industrial area. There are no homes. That would be the ideal place to put it," Assemblyman Sam Pirozzolo said. 

Pirozzolo has introduced legislation requiring sites to be built 1,000 feet from homes. In the meantime, he urges residents to monitor local permits and public filings. 

"Number one, none of them are the same. Every particular battery site has its conditions that are met for that particular location," Pirozzolo said. 

He says people should verify every step of the regulatory and notification process, and if a particular project isn't right for your community, organize early and be loud. 

"You have got to make the time to attend these rallies," Pirozzolo said. 

Pirozzolo and Rios-Kobryn feel their efforts made a difference.

For now, the site on Staten Island sits vacant, but New York state is on track to meet just 27% of its 2030 energy storage goals. That means more sites are coming. The question is where will they go, and will communities be ready?

Last year, a Hecate spokesperson told us they've had projects nationwide since 2019, and they have not had a single fire or safety incident.

 "Hecate Energy is committed to developing energy storage projects that incorporate local stakeholder feedback and community engagement is an important aspect of our development process. At this time, we are conducting studies that will inform the future of the project and we will engage with stakeholders as the project development progresses," Heacate said in a statement last year. 

Meanwhile, Steingart says the sites are engineered to slow down the spread of fire and give firefighters more time.