City and state energy and safety officials briefed the Brooklyn Borough Board on Nov. 26 about the growing use of community-scale battery energy storage systems (ESS), outlining permitting, technical standards and emergency response while responding to neighborhood concerns about flood risk, inspections and local transparency.

Julia Casagrande, deputy director of clean energy at the New York City Mayor’s Office of Climate and Environmental Justice, said energy storage lets the grid “take electricity from a time when there is not high demand and then dispatch it when there is high demand,” and argued the technology can improve reliability and reduce costly peak power use. She told the board the city’s policy target had been 500 megawatts of storage by 2025 and that state targets aim for 6,000 megawatts by 2030. The city currently offers a 30% property tax abatement for energy storage systems through 2035.

FDNY Chief of Fire Prevention Tom Correo described the multiagency approval pathway and device testing standards that must be satisfied before installation. “These devices are tested to a very, very high level,” Correo said, noting FDNY reviews thermal-runaway testing and hazard-mitigation analyses and issues letters of acceptance for required systems such as alarms and sprinklers. Fabricio Carr, FDNY executive director of public engagement, said the department operates a two-tier response so that local units respond first and FDNY’s hazmat battalion provides enhanced support if an incident escalates.

Alan Price of the Department of Buildings said DOB issues construction and electrical permits and performs inspection and commissioning reviews to ensure installations comply with code and manufacturer specifications. He confirmed project-level approvals are reviewed for flood-hazard compliance and said systems proposed for identified FEMA flood zones are not permitted.

Officials gave additional technical details requested by board members: city presenters said most in-city ESS use lithium-ion chemistries today, with 15–20 year lifespans cited as a general industry estimate. The city noted it is tracking installations and that FDNY conducts annual inspections alongside manufacturer-maintained maintenance plans and remote battery-management monitoring. Paul Rogers, a retired FDNY lieutenant who helped draft the city code, emphasized the city’s operational safeguards and the role of a posted certificate-of-fitness holder at each site who must know the site emergency plan.

State officials from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) described post-incident reviews the state carried out after three statewide ESS fires in 2023 and said NYSERDA is funding technical support (DNV contracted to assist FDNY/DOB) and community assistance. Bill Obercare of NYSERDA said the agency had secured additional community-support funding and invited boards to request 1:1 technical assistance and briefings funded by the state.

Community board members pressed officials on several recurring points. Members asked whether FEMA flood maps are up to date and whether community boards will be notified when a proposed site lies in a flood-prone area; Alan Price said DOB uses published maps and that installations in mapped flood zones are not permitted but acknowledged communication to community boards could be improved. Residents also asked about follow-up inspections and decommissioning; FDNY and DOB representatives said the code requires annual inspections, site registration and a formal decommissioning process consistent with NFPA 855 and city rules.

Officials committed to distributing the presentation deck and follow-up contact information and to offering community briefings. NYSERDA said it will continue to provide funded technical assistance to council offices and community boards and that a registration database will track active systems and decommissions.

What’s next: officials will circulate materials and contact information for follow-up; NYSERDA and city teams offered to schedule community briefings and 1:1 technical calls to answer district-specific questions.