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Developers press Town Board for changes to proposed battery storage law; legal counsel warns wetlands rule could block projects
Summary
At a June 1 public hearing, developers and industry representatives urged the Town of Clay to extend permit timeframes and relax certain technical requirements in a draft Battery Energy Storage System law; a Hodgson Russ letter for Aurora Renewables also challenged limits that confine large systems to industrial zones and urged changing a requirement that state wetland approvals precede any local approval.
The Town Board of Clay heard extended public comment on June 1 over a proposed local law (Local Law No.5) to regulate battery energy storage systems (BESS), with developers urging changes to timing and technical requirements they said are impractical for project construction and permitting.
Lauren Hall of Carson Power thanked the board for its draft work but indicated she plans to submit a project application once the ordinance is finalized. Olivia Sproviero of NexAmp urged the board to lengthen the Special Permit approval and construction windows from 12 months to 24 months, saying the "12-month time frame is too restrictive" and that coordinating permitting and construction requires more time. Sproviero also asked that construction timelines be extended.
Sara Yoon of Aurora Renewables asked for a change in the sequencing of state reviews, recommending that approval from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) be required prior to issuance of building permits rather than as a precondition to any local approval. She also submitted a letter for the record (see attached correspondence). Other industry speakers asked the board to revisit requirements for noise studies and for secondary containment, arguing those technical requirements should reflect the products and spacing the companies use.
Residents raised environmental and siting concerns. Ralph Turner said wetlands should not be excluded from regulation; Janet Rathburn pressed the board on how many megawatts a substation can support and on impacts where industrial districts abut residential neighborhoods. Deputy Supervisor Joseph Bick said the law sets a framework and that each application would be reviewed on a case-by-case basis; he noted a 10 MW limit was discussed during the hearing.
Separately, a supplemental letter to the board from Hodgson Russ, submitted on behalf of Aurora Renewables, said the draft law's restriction of Tier 3 BESS to I‑1 and I‑2 industrial districts unless collocated with a ‘‘solar farm’’ is arbitrary, and that requiring applicants to "obtain all required permits, approvals, and jurisdictional determinations from NYSDEC prior to the issuance of any local approval" creates untenable timing constraints. The letter recommended allowing local approvals to proceed and requiring DEC and federal wetland permits before building permits and commencement of construction instead.
The board did not vote on the law at the June 1 meeting. Deputy Supervisor Bick said the hearing will remain open to receive forthcoming comments from the fire departments and from Niagara Mohawk (National Grid) and that the board will continue to consider edits before resuming formal action.
What happens next: The Town Board will take the written comments and the hearing record into account before scheduling further action; no date for a final vote was set at the June 1 meeting.
