Fire Chief Concerned about Battery Storage System Eyed in Syracuse, NY
Syracuse, N.Y. – Syracuse’s fire chief today told city councilors that the plans for a 10-megawatt battery storage system on East Brighton Avenue do not comply with the state fire code as the installation is currently proposed.
Chief Michael Monds said his department will continue to work with the developer to see if the battery system can be configured to meet safety requirements. For now, it does not, based on an informal review of the company’s plan.
“We told them we’re not in support of what was proposed already,’’ Monds said during the Common Council meeting today. “As it sits, the proposal doesn’t meet the fire code.”
After the meeting, Monds said his main concern is that the installation would not be set back far enough from other structures considering the amount of flammable lithium-ion batteries it would have.
Renewable energy company New Leaf Energy is seeking a special permit to install the battery system, which would cover about 20,000 square feet at a lot that currently serves as occasional storage for dumpsters.
The battery energy storage system would charge up at night, when demand for electricity is lowest, and feed the grid during daytime periods of highest demand. That would help reduce the need to operate so-called “peaker” plants – inefficient generating facilities typically fueled by natural gas that only run when demand for electricity is extremely high.
The batteries would store enough electricity to serve 6,000 to 7,000 households.
New York officials several months ago authorized a new round of financial incentives to encourage the development of battery systems to increase the reliability of the electric grid while decreasing the use of fossil fuels.
The biggest obstacle to siting the facilities is concern about fires.
State fire prevention officials recently approved new safety regulations for lithium-ion battery installations. Those changes were triggered by three big fires at battery energy storage systems in 2023 in New York. The fires occurred in Jefferson, Orange and Suffolk counties. In each case, they took a day or more to extinguish.
Monds said his department will take time to carefully analyze the New Leaf proposal, which is the first such battery system proposed in Syracuse. Terrence Nolan, senior project developer, said the company’s safety experts will continue to meet with fire officials to discuss modifications of the design.
“I have some optimism that we’ll be able to come up with a design that meets his interpretation of the codes,’’ Nolan said, referring to Monds.
Common Councilor Pat Hogan said the council also plans to study the issue further at a committee meeting yet to be scheduled.
New Leaf has discussed the project with community residents at four meetings in recent weeks, Noland said. Some residents have expressed opposition to the project, but at least a couple have said they support it, Nolan said.
New York currently has about 1.4 gigawatts of battery storage either built or under contract. To accommodate a growing electric system, NYSERDA plans to have 6 gigawatts by 2030 and 12 GW by 2035.
Staff writer Tim Knauss can be reached at:email|Twitter| 315-470-3023.
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