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EAC recommends negative declaration for proposed 5 MW battery storage at closed Superfund site
Summary
The committee recommended a negative declaration for a proposed 5‑megawatt private battery energy storage system (BESS) at 3695 Broadway, noting site plan review and DEC concurrence will follow. Applicant representatives said the system would be containerized, under one acre, and sited to avoid monitoring wells and contaminated areas.
The Cheektowaga Environmental Advisory Committee on Oct. 29 recommended a negative declaration (uncoordinated review) for a proposed 5‑megawatt private battery energy storage system at 3695 Broadway, subject to subsequent site plan review and DEC concurrence on details related to the closed and monitored Superfund parcel.
Adrian Sorji, project attorney, introduced the proposal and said the project will “inject energy back into the grid at times when the grid is stressed.” Terry Simpson and Kinshuk Sharma, company representatives, described the conceptual layout as occupying less than one acre of a roughly seven‑acre parcel and using containerized battery modules with HVAC units and transformers. Terry Simpson told the committee the containers are typically about “6 to 7 feet” in height and that the batteries would be specified with safer chemistries such as lithium iron phosphate (LFP) where practical.
Applicant representatives said conduit and underground utilities are proposed in locations outside mapped contaminated areas and that they are coordinating with Arcadis (the site engineering team) and the DEC. The team also said it has begun interconnection coordination with the utility and has an interconnection agreement and studies for safety, voltage and frequency considerations in place.
Committee members asked about noise, thermal emissions and visual screening. The applicant said the operation has few moving parts, with primary noise sources limited to cooling fans and HVAC systems, and that proposed landscaping and setbacks exceed code minimums: “we are already at 4 times and 5 times the required setbacks” and plan landscaping buffers to reduce visibility.
The EAC voted to recommend a negative declaration for the use‑variance step; members emphasized that detailed environmental, engineering and DEC approvals — including any needed approvals under the environmental easement that monitors the Superfund site — will be resolved during site plan review and subsequent filings.
The committee also asked the applicant to provide examples of comparable, larger Western New York installations and to include renderings and site plan details when the application advances to the town engineering and site plan stage.
