Proposed Catskill Battery Storage Facility withdraws application

CATSKILL, N.Y. (NEWS10)-- Plans for Catskill Grid, the proposed battery storage facility on Route 9W, are no longer happening. The applicant, Eolian Energy, has withdrawn their application with the town's planning board, board chair Teresa Golden confirmed Tuesday.

In November 2023, the town of Catskill's planning board accepted preliminary plans of a proposed battery energy storage system at 8006 Route 9W, the site of Post Brothers Auto Parts. The facility would include 136 lithium iron phosphate battery containers expected to produce 100 megawatts of power over four hours.

According to Eolian Energy, the permitted energy company for the site, these utility-scale energy storage systems add capacity and resiliency to power grids. The location was chosen because of its proximity to the Central Hudson substation, meeting minutes stated.

For an energy storage facility to open, it must undergo extensive safety testing, according to the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority. The energy company has been assuring both the board and the community that these sites are safe and undergo 24-hour monitoring.

Catskill residents and local officials, however, have been concerned about the site's location and the risk of potential fires. Three large-scale fires occurred at battery-storage facilities in the state last year in Jefferson, Orange and Suffolk counties, in which Governor Kathy Hochul created an Inter-Agency Fire Safety Working Group.

In February 2024, John Farrell, county director of Emergency Services, said if a fire broke out, they would just have to let it burn. In April 2024, Eolian Energy Vice President Justin Adams said the systems are designed that way.

"In the rare event of a fire, industry-standard best practices are to let such fires burn out as the (UL certified) systems are designed and tested to do," Adams said. "The design of the facility’s battery cabinets is important to consider in evaluating why this best practice has emerged. The battery cabinets are installed to manufacture specifications, which incorporate building and fire safety codes and therefore a thermal event is not likely to spread to adjoining battery cabinets.

"The facility’s battery enclosures are also each equipped with an internal deflagration system and overpressure vents that automatically combust flammable gasses released during a thermal event and direct pressure upwards and safely from the enclosure," he continued. "If water is used, it is at the discretion of the emergency responders and based on the specific onsite situation."

Since the April meeting, the board has been considering public comment and awaiting further information from the applicants. In May 2024, the board designated themselves as the lead agency on the project and issued a positive declaration, requiring the company to provide the environmental impact forms.

The forms would address any potential issues including land impacts, impacts to animals, impacts to transportation in the event of an emergency at the facility, noise impacts and health impacts. It would also address issues like floods, thermal events, and pollution of nearby water sources.

In September, Catskill Grid was still in the process of reviewing the assessment forms and withdrew themselves from that month's meeting agenda, Golden said. This delayed the process another month.

However, the applicants withdrew their application two months later. "They did not provide a reason," Golden said.

Since the application has been withdrawn, the planning board's review of the site and application stops, Golden added. If the applicants decide to resubmit, however, the process will start from the beginning again.

Eolian Energy did not immediately respond to emails for comment.