Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Battery Energy Storage topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Residents and clean-energy advocates urge Babylon board to update zoning, not extend moratorium on battery storage
Summary
At a Town of Babylon public hearing, advocates and residents urged the board not to extend a moratorium on battery energy storage systems and to update local zoning to allow properly sited facilities, arguing batteries are key to replacing fossil-fuel peaker plants and stabilizing the grid. The board closed the hearing and reserved its decision.
At a public hearing on a proposed local law, advocates and residents urged the Town of Babylon board to stop extending a moratorium on battery energy storage systems and to move quickly to update zoning to permit carefully sited projects.
Jordan Christiansen, representing Citizens Campaign for the Environment, told the board it was not choosing “between a single best facility and nothing,” but between “battery energy storage or solar or wind or all 3 versus what we have right now, which is fossil fuels.” Christiansen urged the town to adopt zoning that allows safe, community‑appropriate projects instead of continuing moratoriums.
Casey Petraszek of the New York League of Conservation Voters said battery storage is “fundamental to the energy transition,” arguing local codes should support systems that make Long Island’s grid more resilient during storms and heat events while replacing dirtier peaker plants. Renita Certain, founder of Spend A Yard, briefly said she was “in support of the battery” and encouraged the board to move forward.
Several residents spoke about personal and public‑health reasons for supporting storage. Vincent Lospinoso described growing up through multiple hurricanes and said delaying action on climate and clean energy would imperil future generations. Maheen, communications associate with All Our Energy, described family exposure to pollution and cited a transcripted statistic about safety, saying, “Out of the 40 known battery storage fires worldwide in the past decade, there were virtually no injuries,” and contrasted that with the frequency of methane pipeline incidents in the U.S.
After public comment concluded, Councilman Martinez moved, with Councilman McSweeney seconding, to close the hearing and reserve the board’s decision; the board agreed. The board did not vote on the proposed local law at the meeting.
The hearing drew several organizational voices and individual residents urging the town to prioritize code updates and siting practices that pair battery facilities with industrial areas and municipal fire planning. The board has reserved a decision on the proposed law; no date was announced for further action.
