This is Outrageous! Another Damned Battery Storage Fire in the Same Community Where One Took Place Two Years Ago! Wake Up America!

If you go to this Orange and Rockland Utilities page, you will find a slide show promoting the utility’s partnership with Convergent Energy in creating a battery storage project in Warwick, New York. There are multiple sites in the town, and here is one of the slides depicting how close one is to the Warwick school:

The web page also includes this description and the requisite green virtue signaling in support of New York’s ludicrous Climate Act:

Energy storage (typically battery storage) offers utilities a way to increase capacity on the electric grid by charging the batteries when electricity demand is low and discharging them back onto the grid when high demand could impact supply. This program stems from O&R’s concerted effort to reduce costs for customers and incorporate new technologies to maintain efficient, resilient, reliable, and sustainable electric operations.

The 12MW solution is composed of three separate 4MW battery storage systems. Two of the systems are located on property owned by the Warwick Valley Central School District, and the third system is located within the Village of Warwick. New energy products and services, such as this battery storage system for O&R, provide the region with environmental benefits, while also creating economic opportunity. The battery system supports New York State’s initiative to install 3,000 MW of energy storage by 2030. Under the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA) passed in 2018, New York State is mandated to achieve 70 % renewable energy by 2030 and 100 % zero-emission electricity by 2040.

The idea that this somehow reduces energy costs is ridiculous on its face, but notice that no mention is made of safety. And, safety is a huge issue, as Warwick learned in 2023:

The Warwick Village Board passed a resolution proposing a new local law governing the approval of land use involving energy storage systems.

The proposed local law, which was introduced at the October 16 Warwick Village Board of Trustees meeting, would create a one-year moratorium on land use approvals for development of public utility facilities involving energy storage systems. A public hearing on the proposed local law is scheduled for November 6 at 7:30 p.m.

Earlier in the meeting, the board heard from Convergent CFO and COO Frank Genova, who shared his company’s findings on the cause of the fire-related incidents at its Warwick battery energy storage locations on County Route 1A and Church Street.

After an investigation that included outside experts, representatives from the Warwick Valley Central School District and insurance agents, Convergent found that the fires were caused by a manufacturing defect in the Powin-branded Centipede models, which enabled water to enter units at each location, resulting in an electrical fire. Convergent’s third Warwick location uses an older Powin battery energy storage system and was unaffected.

Convergent clarified that it does not produce battery energy storage systems and that it procures units from reputable vendors. While emphasizing the need to prioritize safety, Convergent said a solution for replacing the affected units would likely not be available until the second half of 2024.

Vincent Galligan of Orange & Rockland Utilities, who was present at the meeting, shared that his company is working on backup solutions to cover Warwick’s energy needs, including the development of a mobile substation. In response to Convergent’s findings, trustees expressed concern about the newness of the centipede systems, and whether Warwick was serving as a pilot program for these models…

During the meeting, Trustee Thomas McKnight questioned Convergent’s emergency response plans and fire protocols, stating his views that the board may not have been properly educated in the risk of battery storage system fires and mitigation…

In response, Genova said that thermal incidents at the two Warwick locations were very low, outlier situations. He added that he could not comment on how quickly the conversation advanced as he was not present at the meeting where fire risk and emergency response was discussed.

Trustee Mary Collura asked about the lack of training received by Warwick’s first responders, to which Genova replied that the thermal incidents occurred before additional training was scheduled to take place.

Both the village board and Genova agreed that ongoing conversations are needed to rebuild trust between the village of Warwick and Convergent.

Now, Convergent reports the following:

At 10:15 PM last night, December 19, a fire alarm at our Church Street facility triggered the activation of the emergency response plan. Unfortunately, there is a fire localized in one of the containers. We can confirm there have been no injuries and that the fire has not spread to adjacent containers. Emergency services have been monitoring the situation on-site since the start, and we are grateful for their professionalism and rapid deployment.

We are on-site as well, and our focus is on supporting their response.

Orange County Hazmat has been providing continuous air monitoring since the start of the event at the immediate site, and the readings show no alarm levels. Hazmat will continue to monitor air quality at the site and at downwind locations.

Our top priority is to keep people safe. Accepted best practice is to contain the fire, cool the area, and manage it while protecting nearby structures and equipment.

Our systems are monitored 24/7 through a mixture of automated sensors and human monitored cameras and controls. If certain alarms trigger, the system automatically shuts down, as happened here. Human operators have a manual “emergency stop,” which our operator then activated.

We have idled this system until we can enter the site and learn more about what happened.

The immediate next steps are to contain and resolve the incident. It is too early to speculate what caused the incident and we will continue to work closely with the Fire Department, Police Department, and the Village of Warwick.

And here is some outstanding reporting on the event, which is part of a larger story with several other photos and videos and is in sharp contrast to Convergent assurances. The pathetic excuses offered by O&R and Convergent aren’t cutting it. No one is happy with them. They sold out to the green grifters, the special interests, and the demagogic politicians. It’s the New York way.

And, by the way, Convergent Energy? They’re grifters and part of Brookfield Energy Partners, which is a global green grifting outfit, although they are pursuing nuclear, too. They’re corporatists extraordinaire and they’re recipients of investments by the likes of big bad BlackRock. It’s all one big climate blob that is, thank goodness, falling to pieces slowly because of just the sort of thing happening in Warwick, not to mention exploding electric prices to line their pockets.

#BESS #BatteryStorage #NewYork #Fires #Lithium #Warwick #School