Grand Island: Battery storage issue sparks discussion

Article and Photo by Karen Carr Keefe

Senior Contributing Writer

A Town Board Q&A about the sequencing of a draft law involving the State Environmental Quality Review Act may just rival the question, “Which came first, the chicken or the egg?”

Or in Grand Island’s case, which comes first, the draft law or the site plan – for a battery storage facility?

After discussion, the board voted unanimously to follow the process of SEQR in drawing up a law to regulate such facilities.

Council member Dan Kilmer had wanted the law to include a description of potential environmental hazards from battery storage sites.

But Council member Tom Digati, a lawyer, said that such a determination is made only after the completion of an investigation under the provisions of SEQR.

Digati stressed the draft law can’t presume, a priori, that there would be ill effects from battery storage before a site plan is developed and a review is completed. Digati said the draft local law triggers the process of investigating whether or not the project would have negative environmental impacts.

An explanation of battery storage facilities

National Grid’s website states: “Battery storage technologies are essential to speeding up the replacement of fossil fuels with renewable energy. Battery storage systems will play an increasingly pivotal role between green energy supplies and responding to electricity demands.”

The website adds, “Battery storage systems … are devices that enable energy from renewables, like solar and wind, to be stored and then released when the power is needed most.”

There was a provision about battery storage facilities in Grand Island’s original solar law, adopted in 2021. With the growth of battery storage systems in New York state since then, it was decided to break out a standalone battery storage law for the town.

Resident objects to town as lead agency

Engineer and Island resident Jim Daigler spoke about the town’s draft battery storage law and its intended path through SEQR.

Daigler took issue with the Town Board being the lead agency in establishing whether potential battery storage projects would pose any adverse environmental impact at Grand Island sites.

In his public comment, Daigler questioned both the town’s objectivity and its ability to independently determine potential threats to Grand Island’s environment.

He said that, with the town in the lead agency status, “There’s none of the checks and balances that normally come into play, say, in private enterprise, when you do this type of stuff.”

Daigler continued, “But overall, what I think it means is that someone takes this proverbial hard look, objectively and honestly, to determine what are the potential adverse environmental impacts. And then, with that knowledge, (what) this person or these individuals that are preparing the law in this case would do is to write a law that would address those potential impacts in a way that the lead agency could determine that it could ‘neg dec’ (issue a negative declaration) and say there are no significant environmental impacts, essentially, that can't be addressed and mitigated. And that's, I think, what's been missing from the town government over the past years.”

He said a recent determination – that a solar farm would have no adverse effects on wetlands in the town – backfired when the wetlands were “completely destroyed.”

Daigler concluded with the statement: “So, I appreciate the idea that this is still an ongoing discussion.”

Kilmer proposes resolution on battery storage

Kilmer proposed a resolution that the Town Board, with input from its advisory boards, should follow proper procedure in adopting a battery storage law that protects the town from environmental damage.

Kilmer is the Town Board’s 2025 liaison to the Conservation Advisory Board (CAB).

“During the long discussion on the battery law between CAB and multiple people having input on it, it kind of was uncovered that we're not following SEQR on this law in a way that makes sense. So, I was asked – we were actually asked – by Mr. Daigler in our last meeting, to follow the law,” Kilmer said. “So, I'm going to make a motion that we follow the process of SEQR while implementing and developing this new law on battery storage.”

Town Board discussion of issue

In Town Board discussion of the resolution, Digati said, “Mr. Daigler was on the email when the attorney said we’re following SEQR. It’s being done appropriately.”

Kilmer countered, “There are plenty of documents out there on these battery storage facilities and what could be negative impacts and they could have been written into our law if SEQR was followed at the beginning. … It’s catch-22, chicken and the egg.” 

Kilmer said the CAB went through the draft law line-by-line.

“So, basically the draft law we got from our attorney is garbage. We spent a lot of money – or some money – on a law that had none of the impacts in it,” Kilmer added.

Digati responded, “You're looking at the law backwards. You're looking at it as a law that's permitting something, not something that’s restricting something.”

Digati said the process is working, the feedback from advisory boards is valuable when finalizing the law, and no one is in a hurry to push it through.

“I think we all agree that there are big holes that we need to fill and we're lucky to have the talent and the dedication of CAB and the Planning Board and the other people who have given us the feedback (including Jim Daigler) that we're going to use to make this thing a much better version than it was, and we got it,” Digati said.

Town adopts resolution

After the discussion, Kilmer agreed with Digati. “It’s actually a motion just to do what we’re supposed to do.”

Supervisor Peter Marston said Daigler’s comments resonated with him regarding the drawbacks of the town being the lead agency in the SEQR process, and he thought that aspect could use further study.

Board members summarized, in tandem, the essence of Kilmer’s resolution: “Trust the process, but color inside the lines.”

The Town Board unanimously approved the resolution to follow the SEQR process when drawing up the battery storage law.

What’s involved in siting battery storage facilities

NFP searched online for an energy industry analysis of what goes into siting a battery storage facility. Here’s a brief description from a guide produced by Enverus, a company that offers data, analytics, and software solutions for the energy industry: “Siting battery storage projects involves considerations beyond just technical and economic factors. Environmental impacts play a crucial role, including habitat disturbance, air and water quality, and noise pollution.”

The Enverus guide notes, “Additionally, selecting sites resilient to natural disasters such as flooding is essential for long-term reliability.”