As reported by Utility Dive, Gov. Hochul convened an interagency working group in July 2023 following multiple safety incidents at New York battery storage installations, including a four-day fire at a Convergent Energy facility in Jefferson County.
Other U.S. jurisdictions have also taken steps to improve safety and emergency planning at battery facilities.
A California state law requires facility operators to develop emergency response plans, while San Diego County officials voted to develop siting and safety standards.
The New York working group issued 15 fire safety recommendations in February.
These include eliminating the electrical utility exemption, requiring emergency response plans, and enhancing onsite signage standards.
The working group also recommended that facility personnel or representatives be able to dispatch within 15 minutes and arrive onsite within four hours of an incident.
Battery installation fire detection systems should be monitored by local firefighting authorities, and industry-funded independent peer reviews and regular safety inspections should be mandated.
New York will accept public comments on the draft fire code language through September 24, according to Gov. Hochul’s office.
These proposed enhancements apply only to lithium-ion battery storage systems with capacities exceeding 600 kWh, excluding smaller battery arrays and storage facilities using non-lithium technologies.
Noah Roberts, senior director of energy storage for the American Clean Power Association, stated: “The adoption of the most up-to-date, best-in-class [battery safety] standards ensures responsible and safe deployment of energy storage, while allowing all New Yorkers to benefit from low cost, reliable and clean energy.
“Otherwise, we risk cementing an outdated understanding of energy storage technologies.”
ACP released a model energy storage safety ordinance in June for state and local governments.
This ordinance incorporated the rigorous safety rules outlined in the National Fire Protection Association’s 855 standard.
As part of its plan to deploy 6 GW of energy storage by 2030, New York aims for storage resources with 8-hour discharge durations to comprise 20% of each utility-scale storage procurement.
This includes conventional non-battery systems, such as the Blenheim-Gilboa Pumped Storage Power Project, and new technologies like Hydrostor’s advanced compressed-air energy storage system.
Non-lithium battery chemistries with lower fire risk, such as CMBlu’s organic flow and Urban Electric Power’s zinc manganese dioxide batteries, are also being considered.
The U.S. Department of Energy will cover half the $13.1 million cost of two demonstration-scale Urban Electric Power installations, set to come online by 2028.
Each 300-kW installation will be capable of discharging for 12 hours or longer, according to the New York Power Authority.
