Three hours was not enough time for residents of the town of Hanover to speak out on a proposed battery storage system, so the Town Board held a second public hearing on Monday evening at Silver Creek Central School to open the floor for even more comments.

After nearly three more hours, the Town Board was left with a decision to ponder for the next few weeks. Hanover Town Supervisor Lou Pelletter stated that Monday’s meeting is the final public hearing the town would hold on the matter before a decision is made, likely at the second meeting in April, set for Monday, April 28 at 7 p.m. at the Hanover Town Hall.

What is it?

The proposed project is a 250-megawatt lithium battery storage system, with an interconnection that would be located on Stebbins Road. The project would be owned by Northland Power, Inc., the same owner as the Ball Hill Wind Turbine project.

Kevin Eick, a town of Hanover resident and parent, spoke at a public hearing Monday night at Silver Creek Central School.

Northland Power would manage the construction of the facility and employees from the Ball Hill Wind Turbine facility would also be involved in operations. Northland Power is located in Toronto and is a publicly traded stock on the Toronto Stock Exchange. The project itself would be operated under a New York based LLC.

A battery storage system is used to generate and store energy generated from sources such as solar and wind farms to dispatch the electricity when needed.

See HANOVER, Page A3

HANOVER

Batteries can also serve as a backup power source, and can reduce the need for grid infrastructure upgrades by optimizing local energy use. Northland Power stated that while energy from the facility could be sent elsewhere in emergencies, it is more efficient to utilize the energy locally, close to the site of the interconnection.

Emily Cornwall, a resident of the town of Hanover, shared concerns of chemicals winding up in Lake Erie if a battery storage system fire occurs.

There are currently more than 5,000 energy storage projects operating in the state of New York, totaling more than 340 megawatts of energy. Non-hydro renewable energy sources – such as wind, solar, and battery systems – accounted for 10% of New York’s energy generation in 2024. The earliest date for operation of the proposed project would likely be in 2028.

What the people think

Residents came to Monday’s meeting to ask questions and voice concerns. While the tone was slightly less adversarial than the previous public hearing on the matter, the duration of Monday’s meeting matched its predecessor. Following roughly an hour of presentations from representatives from Northland Power and an expert from DNV Energy, residents took their turn at the podium to share their stance. The hearing lasted just shy of three hours in its entirety.

A major concern through both public hearings was the potential for a fire. Representatives spoke at the previous hearing about the battery storage system’s safety measures to limit the spread of a fire, but many were still not convinced. At the latest hearing, a video was shown to the audience of a test conducted without intervention from any fire departments to show how a fire reacts.

A fire was intentionally started by heating one of the battery units with electric heaters until it caught fire. As the representatives stated, the fire did not spread to the adjacent containers located less than a foot away. The fire burned for 29 hours, with its peak temperature at just over 2,500 degrees Fahrenheit observed approximately eight hours into the test. Explosions damaged the outside of the container, and the interior being completely burned down, but the fire still did not spread.

Chris Stanton, Senior Director of Project Development at Northland Power, spoke at a public hearing Monday night at Silver Creek Central School.

Fires of battery storage facilities have occurred four times in New York State in 2023 – three in Orange County and one in Suffolk County – out of the more than 5,000 facilities statewide. A much more publicized fire occurred in Monterey, California, with a different design and project than what is being proposed in Hanover. Northland Power stated that while fires do still occur, they are infrequent and less common than in years past.

Residents still reiterated their concerns, stating that harsh winds could spread the fire or that the smoke emanating from the fire would be dispersed throughout the community. Silver Creek Central School is less than two miles from the proposed site, which many residents felt was a risk not worth taking.

One of those residents was Kevin Eick, a resident and parent of children at Silver Creek schools. Eick is also the founder of the youth flag football program in the town of Hanover, which holds games on the Silver Creek school fields.

Eick pressed the representatives on the long-term effects of chemicals in the smoke from a potential fire after they stated it would not pose immediate danger outside of a small, concentrated area.

“We’re a mile and a half from the site. I’ve got children that go to this school and play outside,” Eick said. “I don’t want them breathing any level of toxicity. I don’t care what the level is. I don’t care if it’s not immediately life threatening. If you can’t tell me that long-term there’s not consequences, then I think it’s a non-starter.”

Colin Erdle, a Hanover landowner attached to the proposed project, spoke in favor of allowing a battery storage system in the town if regulated by the Town Board.

Residents raised concerns of water contamination after a potential fire, whether it be from the chemicals entering streams or soil after fighting a fire or through smoke emanating from the flames. Emily Cornwall, a resident of the town of Hanover, spoke to the concerns of the project’s proximity to Lake Erie. She also presented the Town Board with a petition from residents opposing the project.

“Something like this should not ever be located within the Lake Erie watershed. Lake Erie is a Great Lake. It is a natural resource. (The project) is just a third of a mile away from two creeks that go right into the lake,” Cornwall said.

Cornwall echoed earlier sentiments from the crowd that the town of Hanover was targeted for a project like this because it was somehow less valuable than other locations.

“While New York state pushes for more electricity production, this proposal sacrifices our town’s most vital natural resource, fresh water. It is deeply concerning that the state is prioritizing electricity over a resource that is essential to life,” Cornwall said. “… As a community, we are not willing to be the sacrificed town for the state’s energy demands.”

Chris Stanton, Senior Director of Project Development at Northland Power, responded to the motives for selecting the town of Hanover site.

“The reason why we selected this location is because of the substation right next to it. We already have a facility operating here. We had a really positive experience working with the town of Hanover when we actually constructed the Ball Hill wind farm,” Stanton said. He stated the opportunity for a battery storage facility was not on Northland’s radar until approximately a year ago.

Colin Erdle, a Hanover landowner attached to the proposed project, also spoke again, as he did at the previous meeting. He stated that even if the town does not pursue the project, the state could potentially overrule the decision through the legal system. He urged the Town Board to approve the project with stipulations that the town could require to have more of a say in the matter, as well as all of the financial benefits offered to the town through Northland’s proposal.

In the event that a court rules the project can proceed, the safety measures the project is implementing will all likely remain in place, but the town would no longer receive payment through a proposed host community agreement, which would potentially pay $275,000 each year, escalating with inflation, over the course of the project’s useful life.

Cornwall addressed that possibility, stating, “I understand that we might lose anyways, but we should at least put up a fight.”

Residents who wish to learn more about the project are urged to pick up a copy of questions and answers provided by Northland Power, which are available at the Hanover Town Clerk’s office.