Grand Island advisory board urges six‑month moratorium on battery storage, cites safety and environmental gaps
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Summary
The Grand Island Conservation Advisory Board voted Dec. 25 to advise the Town Board to impose a six‑month moratorium on permitting of battery energy storage systems, saying the draft local law lacks required safety, environmental and application standards.
The Grand Island Conservation Advisory Board on Dec. 25 voted to advise the Town Board to impose a six‑month moratorium on permitting battery energy storage systems (BESS), citing what members described as major omissions in the town's draft law.
Board members said the draft ordinance fails to include critical safety and environmental protections — including a decommissioning plan, hazard‑mitigation and commissioning analyses, clear tier definitions and adequate setbacks from schools and sensitive waterways. The advisory motion, moved by an attending CAB member and seconded during the meeting, directs the Town Board to pause permitting while the advisory board and other stakeholders complete a more detailed review and submit redlined recommendations and a narrative summary.
Members said the draft allows tier 1 systems up to 600 kilowatt‑hours and leaves tiers 2 and 3 uncapped in some cases, a structure the group said could enable much larger projects on agricultural parcels without more rigorous permitting. One board member warned that facilities above about 5 megawatts typically trigger state review and may reduce local control. The CAB also highlighted guidance used elsewhere — including NYSERDA model provisions, electrical industry dispersion modeling and National Fire Protection standards — that are not referenced or fully integrated in the draft.
Public‑safety concerns were central to the board's reasoning. Participants raised examples of lithium‑ion battery fires that can reignite and burn for days, and said Grand Island's geography — an island with only two bridges off‑island — increases evacuation complexity. The board asked that application requirements be strengthened to require site‑specific hazard‑mitigation studies, third‑party inspections during commissioning, binding decommissioning plans, and ongoing monitoring and reporting regimes.
The advisory letter that CAB approved lists the board's priorities for revision: purpose and intent language that prioritizes site suitability and environmental protection; explicit decommissioning and hazardous‑materials plans; tier definitions and aggregate caps; mandatory special‑use review for larger tiers; setback distances from schools and other sensitive sites; and routine inspections and monitoring requirements. The board also recommended the Town Board consider a modest extension of the public comment period while revisions are prepared.
The CAB directed staff and volunteer members to circulate a collaborative package of edits and a narrative summary to the Town Board as the starting point for the town's next steps. The CAB vote on the advisory moratorium was carried during the meeting; the Town Board has not adopted any moratorium at the time of the advisory vote.
Next steps reported by CAB included finalizing members' comments and circulating them to the Town Board and seeking additional input from experienced municipal planners, fire services, and state resources to inform the town's ordinance drafting and any potential moratorium implementation.
