“Following the third fire at a battery energy storage facility in as many months in New York this summer, Gov. Kathy Hochul last week announced the creation of a state inter-agency working group tasked with ensuring the safety of battery energy storage systems across New York.
The governor’s announcement came the day after fire erupted at a battery energy storage system in the Town of Lyme, in upstate Jefferson County on July 27. Hochul cited that fire and others at battery energy storage facilities in the Town of Warwick, in Orange County on June 26 and in the Town of East Hampton in Suffolk on May 31.
The state working group will begin immediate inspections of energy storage sites across the state, Hochul said, and “collaborate with first responders and local leaders to identify best practices, address potential risks to public safety, and ensure energy storage sites across New York are safe and effective.””
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Civiletti, Danise. Riverhead Local 4 August 2023.