Battery storage moratorium divides Islip residents as board schedules public hearing

A large portion of the public comment period at the Islip Town Board ugust meeting centered on whether the town should extend a moratorium on battery energy storage systems (BESS).

Joseph Stallone of the New York League of Conservation Voters urged the board not to extend the moratorium, saying battery storage is "an essential part of the clean energy transition" and noting that codes and standards have evolved to address safety concerns. Lucia Yu, a developer with Keycapture Energy, told the board that the state's fire prevention and building code council recently approved new, more stringent fire safety codes and said that those updates remove the need for an extension.

Opponents emphasized siting and emergency-response risks for a proposed 79-megawatt facility near residences and an elementary school. Louis Zara, identified as a Hop Hog fire-district commissioner, said a facility of that size raises concerns for firefighting access, toxic byproducts from a thermal-runaway fire, drainage and runoff into nearby waterways and strain on local resources.

The board voted to advertise a public hearing to amend the town's moratorium ordinance and invited further public testimony next month; the vote to advertise the public hearing was approved as part of the agenda (item 21). Multiple speakers on both sides asked the board to weigh updated safety standards against local siting risks before taking a final vote.

What happens next: the town will hold a noticed public hearing on the proposed code amendment; residents and developers were repeatedly urged to submit site-specific data and for the board to coordinate with local fire departments and the state fire-code updates before any decision is made.