Letter to the Editor: Response to ‘We need battery storage’

The tone of Dr. Edelstein’s letter [We need battery storage] bears a striking resemblance to the “How to Talk to Rural People About Climate Change” presentation that was brought to Warwick a few years back.

Most power outages in this area are caused by damaged distribution infrastructure. BESS [Battery Energy Storage Systems] is not going to restore power to neighborhoods with downed trees, power lines, utility poles, or equipment failures.

New York’s reliability challenges should have been addressed before Governor Cuomo closed Indian Point and certainly before Governor Hochul attempted to ban natural gas in new construction. A realistic plan for maintaining reliable, affordable energy should have preceded policies that increase dependence on intermittent generation.

And inexpensive for whom, exactly? Certainly not ratepayers. For the next three years, O&R customers are experiencing electric rate increases of 4.6 percent, 3.3 percent, and 3.5 percent, along with gas rate increases of 10.9 percent, 3.5 percent, and 3.8 percent, to support the “development of clean and resilient energy projects.”

Comparing industrial-scale BESS facilities to household backup batteries is equal parts absurd and irrelevant, as it ignores what Warwick is actually proposing. As stated in the summary on the Town’s website: “The proposed law allows homeowners and businesses to utilize battery storage technology while effectively preventing large utility-scale battery installations in Warwick.”

Our caution is not rooted in anti-technology paranoia, but through lived experience. The lesson from Warwick is that the core deficiencies in need of improvement are sitting in Albany. There’s a reason New York accounts for two thirds of municipal moratoriums nationwide.

Megan Cooke
Warwick