Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Battery Storage topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Depew board adopts local battery‑storage law with decommissioning safeguards
Summary
The Village of Depew adopted Local Law No. 2 of 2026 on June 8, approving rules for battery energy storage facilities that add tiered reviews and decommissioning requirements; the adoption followed a public hearing and a unanimous roll‑call vote.
The Village of Depew Board of Trustees voted June 8 to adopt Local Law No. 2 of 2026, a local battery energy storage law designed to regulate new energy storage facilities and require safeguards for decommissioning.
Trustees voted on the measure by roll call; Trustee Adolf, Trustee Zimba, Trustee Craft, Deputy Mayor Morowski and Mayor Kevin Peterson recorded unanimous affirmative votes to adopt the law.
The law’s draft, the board said, incorporates a tiered review approach that adds larger "tier‑three" facilities to the village’s permitting framework and requires owners to submit decommissioning plans so a site cannot be abandoned or left as a village financial burden. The draft was developed with reference to guidance from the New York State Department of Energy, trustees said during remarks in the meeting’s presentation phase.
The board had left a public hearing on the draft open for comment in recent weeks; at the June 8 meeting a trustee moved to close the hearing at 7:16 p.m., and the board carried that motion before proceeding to the adoption vote. During the hearing trustees and staff emphasized that the draft allows the village planning and zoning board to review variances and site plans appropriate to different sizes of installations.
Mayor Kevin Peterson moved the adoption formally during the meeting; the motion was seconded and approved on the roll call described above. The law text was attached to the meeting agenda and is available with the village clerk’s records.
Next steps will include administrative implementation through the village’s planning and zoning processes, where applicants for energy storage facilities will be required to show compliance with the new local law’s technical and decommissioning requirements.
Authorities and context: trustees said the draft was informed by New York State Department of Energy guidance and intended to give the local planning and zoning board the tools to review site plans and variances for battery storage installations. The village’s adoption does not eliminate future amendments; trustees noted the law can be revised as the technology and safety practices evolve.
