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Resident warns of safety, evacuation and insurance gaps for proposed battery storage projects in Chautauqua County
Summary
At the Public Safety Committee meeting, Karen Engstrom of Chautauqua Energy Watch told members battery energy storage systems (BESS) raise evacuation, firefighting, environmental and insurance concerns for local towns and institutions.
Karen Engstrom, identifying herself as from the township of Chautauqua and Chautauqua Energy Watch, told the Chautauqua County Public Safety Committee that proposed battery energy storage systems are a public safety issue for local communities.
Engstrom said developers are approaching towns with BESS proposals under state-sponsored solicitations and raised questions about evacuation plans, firefighter training and long-term disposal of batteries. "Do we have evacuation plans? We know that in Ripley, at the state level ... the fire plan was an evacuation of a radius of 7 miles in the case of a thermal runaway fire or explosion," she said, citing prior board hearings and recent high-profile fires in other states.
The comment came during the committee's "Privilege of the Floor" public-comment period; no action was taken by the committee on the topic. Engstrom pressed how evacuations would protect nearby schools, nursing homes and colleges and whether mutual-aid firefighters would receive specialized training for BESS incidents. She also said thermal runaway fires can take days to extinguish, consume large volumes of water and risk watershed contamination.
Engstrom listed additional concerns including toxic gas release during fires, the high cost and limited lifespan of battery systems, disposal challenges because of hazardous materials, and whether BESS provides backup power in a grid outage. "Is it true that BESS shuts down as do solar and wind if the grid fails? ... there it is not a backup system at all," she said, reporting conversations with an operator who described it as not functioning as a grid-independent backup.
She also referenced an insurance disclosure she said was attached to hazard notices indicating some projects may be uninsured, and quoted local elected officials she said criticized the proposals. "Our state is imposing these things on us," she told the committee, and she urged county assistance to advise small towns confronting developer solicitations.
The committee chair acknowledged the presentation and asked whether anyone else wished to speak; no further public commenters addressed BESS at the meeting. The record shows the committee did not take formal action on battery storage during this session.
Community members and local officials considering or negotiating with developers on BESS proposals should note the concerns raised in public comment about evacuation planning, firefighter training, environmental impacts and insurance coverage. The committee did not provide a staff directive or a formal vote on the subject at this meeting.
