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May 25, 2024

As 2 lithium

A battery energy storage site at Littlefield Avenue and Hylan Boulevard in Eltingville is pictured here. Fires at two battery energy storage sites in Warwick, N.Y., have been smoldering for more than

A battery energy storage site at Littlefield Avenue and Hylan Boulevard in Eltingville is pictured here. Fires at two battery energy storage sites in Warwick, N.Y., have been smoldering for more than a week, after officials say a storm-related issue caused the newly installed units to ignite and burn in two separate incidents last month. (Staten Island Advance/Jan Somma-Hammel)

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Fires at two lithium-ion battery energy storage sites (BESS) in Warwick, N.Y., have been smoldering for more than a week, after officials say a storm-related issue caused the newly installed units to ignite and burn in two separate incidents on June 26.

Located in residential areas – one near three schools, a bus garage and some athletic fields – the sites were constructed and developed by Convergent Energy, a provider of energy storage solutions that was awarded an opportunity to build similar storage sites on Staten Island in 2021.

“We are thrilled to acquire this unique development opportunity in Convergent Energy + Power’s hometown of New York City, where battery storage will play an increasingly significant role in the clean energy transition,” Frank Genova, Convergent’s chief operating and financial officer, noted in a press release when the company acquired a 5 MW / 20 MWh BESS contract on the borough.

According to that same press release, the Staten Island Convergent project was scheduled to be completed by 2022. A project summary submitted by Convergent to the New York City Industrial Development Agency in January of that year noted that the proposed BESS was to be located at 707 Richmond Rd. on Grymes Hill. But no plans have been filed with the Department of Buildings at that address, and the property, located next to a gas station, still seems to be in use as a car lot. Convergent did not respond to inquiries from the Advance/SILive.com about its dealings on the borough.

And now, the company’s Warwick facilities, one of which was put into operation in May, are being dubbed a significant health concern for the Orange County community.

“Residents in town reported a burning glue-like smell on Wednesday, which is now gone as the fire at the school complex smolders,” News 12 Westchester reported. “Authorities said they had to let it burn out on its own, because water would make it worse. Fire officials said Thursday that the smell was likely the odor of the batteries’ plastic covers burning.”

Michael Contaxis, chief of the Warwick Fire Department, addressed community safety concerns during a Warwick Village Board meeting on July 3. According to the Warwick Advertiser, Contaxis said that while the local fire department took action to mitigate the risk to the community, it was provided no formal training on these systems by Powin, the manufacturer of the energy storage systems housed in the Convergent Energy facilities. He also explained how battery fires cannot be handled with water and need to burn out on their own.

Both Convergent and Powin declined an invitation to speak at the same meeting due to the ongoing investigation.

In a statement to MidHudson News, Convergent said it is “following the industry’s best practice of maintaining a safe distance and letting combustible material deteriorate.”

Convergent also noted that hazmat crews conducted air quality testing that showed an air quality index “within non-alarming levels.”

“Although there is no present cause for concern regarding air quality, it is advisable to keep a distance and close windows if you are in the vicinity,” the statement said, noting testing of air quality will continue over the next few days.

The company built the sites to supply energy to Orange and Rockland’s power grid. Emergency management officials told News 12 Westchester that one of the facilities is located in close proximity to a 1,000-gallon propane tank and fuel pumps for the district bus garage.

And as similar BESS units continue to crop up across Staten Island, the fires and resulting poor air quality sparked concerns for borough residents.

“This is exactly what we were afraid of, this is what they wanted to put in our parking lot,” one Bulls Head resident said when discussing the Warwick incident, referring to the proposed construction of a BESS facility in a vacant portion of Our Lady of Pity church parking lot that was thwarted by community opposition in January.

But still others rise. A lithium-ion battery storage unit is currently being built on Giffords Lane in Great Kills. Its developer, NineDot Energy, said it should be operational and ready to harvest energy later this year. Another, located at the corner of Hylan Boulevard and Littlefield Avenue in Eltingville, directly across the street from a Shell gas station, is now complete. Most recently, a similar facility broke ground on Nelson Avenue in Great Kills, sandwiched between a residential home and a Citgo gas station.

“If you put a deck on your house, it is scrutinized from every angle,” Borough President Vito Fossella previously told the Advance/SILive.com. “But we have residents who are quite literally waking up with these battery systems in their backyards.”

On June 28, Con Edison connected NYC’s largest Battery Energy Storage System, announcing plans to take stress off the city’s power grid before the summer heat drives up electricity demand. The lithium-ion facility -- which will hold enough electricity to charge 1.5 million cellphones -- is located at a substation in the Fox Hills section of Clifton.

“That will take stress off Con Edison’s electric delivery system in the area when the demand for power is high, which occurs in the late afternoon and evening hours during the summer,” Con Ed noted in a press release. “The system and other similar systems that Con Edison is planning will be able to store and discharge electricity from renewable sources such as offshore wind turbines. That will become important as the state adds more clean energy to its portfolio.”

The Fox Hills location, which includes 11 Tesla Megapacks, each housing 19 battery modules with an inverter, is the only Staten Island system that the utility has authorized and certified. Another, located on a customer property at 1515 Richmond Terrace, is currently being operated by the utility under a “demonstration project.”

According to the release, both systems underwent a rigorous safety review by the FDNY.

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