Increasingly, larger arrays of lithium-ion batteries are connected to electrical grids around the US to store the electricity they can emit when demand is high.
But residents in some locations are retreating due to fear that more energy storage could flare up the system if it was added. A huge facility in California Earlier this year.
Advocates argue that cutting-edge battery energy storage systems are safe, but more regions have enacted moratoriums.
“We’re not guinea pigs for anyone… we’re not going to experiment, we’re not going to take risks,” said Michael McGinty, Mayor of New York Island Park, who passed the moratorium in July after a storage system was proposed near the village line.
At least dozens of regions across the United States have been moving in recent years to temporarily block the development of large battery systems.
Long Island, which has the potential to boost the power grid over the next few years when offshore wind farms come online, has recently been attracting attention from the Trump administration. Opponents there were boosted in August as Environmental Protection Agency administrator Lee Zeldin visited New York and complained that the state was rushing to approve the site to meet its “delusional” green power goals.
Battery growth is skyrocketing
Battery energy storage systems that suck in inexpensive electricity during periods of low demand and then make profits during periods of high demand are considered important as intermittent energy sources such as wind and solar.
Known for the acronym Bess, the system is believed to have made the grid more reliable and reduced power outages. The large battery system consists of a row of shipping containers in fenced lots, which hold hundreds of thousands of cells.
China and the US are leading the world by quickly adding battery storage energy systems. However, according to a study by Bloombergnef, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Australia, the Netherlands, Netherlands, Chile, Canada and the UK have also commissioned or started construction of the largest project since 2024.
In the US, California and Texas were leaders in battery storage. However, other states are moving quickly, and often use systems that have been developed personally. Though the Trump administration was either unsupported or even hostile to renewable energy, the major tax credits for energy storage projects were maintained in the recently approved federal budget for projects eligible to begin construction over the next eight years.
The developers added 4,908 megawatts of battery storage capacity in the second quarter of 2025, with Arizona, California and Texas accounting for about three-quarters of their new capacity. That alone is enough to fit nearly 1.7 million households.
New York has an ambitious goal of adding 6,000 megawatts of energy storage by 2030.
Lithium ion fire worries
Opposition to storage systems usually focuses on the possibility of thermal runaway, a chain reaction of uncontrolled heating that can lead to fires and explosions. Opponents ask, pointing to past fires: what would you do if it happened in my neighborhood?
a Battery Storage System At Moss Landing, California opened fire in January, sending toxic smoke feathers into the atmosphere, forcing about 1,500 people to evacuate.
Experts in this field say battery systems have become safer over the years. Ofodike Ezekoye, a combustion expert and professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Texas at Austin, also noted that while obstacles are relatively rare, the designed systems are 100% completely difficult.
“It’s a relatively immature technique and is quickly matured, so I think there are a lot of very thoughtful researchers and other stakeholders looking to improve the overall safety of these systems,” Ezekoye said.
Battery storage owners say facilities like Moss Landing, where batteries are stored indoors, are not permitted in New York. New York uses fire codes that require modular enclosure designs at the minimum required intervals to prevent fires from expanding.
Battery System Block
Those who live near the proposed site are not always guaranteed.
Cities in Washington Maple Valley Mayor Laura Philpot approved the six-month moratorium in July as a way to “protect us until we know more.”
Voters in Halstead, Kansas, who have a moratorium, will be asked this election day if they want to ban larger battery storage systems within city restrictions, according to Mayor Dennis Travis. He said the city hopes one day it can host a safely designed storage system, and that local enemies accidentally pinned it to a California fire.
According to a presentation by the Pacific Northwest National Institute last year, the number of areas passing through the moratorium began to rise in 2023 and 2024, introducing prominent clusters in New York, reflecting trends in battery storage deployment.
Winnie Sokolowski is among the proposed local residents 250 megawatt lithium ion The storage system in the town of Ulster, New York claims it is too close to schools and homes.
“They’re banking on nothing happening, but I don’t think they can put it where they’re proposing and assume nothing happens,” Sokorowski said. “If that’s the case, it’s too dangerous.”
Developer Terra-Gen said the design would spread the fire and the system “substantiates a reliable science-based threat to neighbors, the public, or the environment.”
Doreen Harris, president of the New York State Department of Energy Research and Development, said he believes the state has appropriate safety rules and that expanding the use of battery storage systems could “strengthen and modernize the grid.”
She said there are local concerns even in the early stages of solar farm sitting, but that proves their interests.
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Associated Press Writer Jennifer McDermott from Providence, Rhode Island contributed to this report.
