At a recent meeting of the Town of Hanover Board a major topic discussed was a proposal to construct a BESS — or a Battery Energy Storage System in the town. Whether its solar arrays, wind turbines or now BESS It’s just another one of the stories we often hear in this crazy green energy world.

They all seem to go the same way with the promise that whatever is being pushed will be good for the community and everyone in it. Then they tell us that you are going to have to get in early because everyone wants this wonderful project. Like hucksters before them they paint a picture of a wonderful green new world leaving out the part about blighted landscapes, fires and chemical contamination and dead wildlife.

Fortunately, Town of Hanover Supervisor Lou Pelletter was having none of that at the recent meeting. Knowing that the real beneficiaries of the project were the Silver Creek School District and the county he said, ‘When it comes to the (payment in lieu of taxes agreement), I’m not interested in the school getting anything; I’m not interested in the county getting anything; and I’m not interested in them saying we’re going to cut out all the sales tax’ All he wanted to know was ‘What’s in it for the Town of Hanover?’

After reading these comments in the OBSERVER I began wondering exactly how a BESS facility stores energy, what kinds of batteries are used, and are there any hazards involved with this type of facility.

To begin, a BESS is a facility that uses batteries to store energy from renewable sources like wind and solar making it available for periods of high demand when the Sun isn’t shining, or the wind is not blowing. These facilities house large numbers of lithium-ion batteries to provide energy storage for homes, businesses, or the grid and allow for power to be drawn when needed.

A major drawback of Lithium-ion batteries is fire safety. Lithium-ion batteries can catch fire if damaged, overheated, or improperly handled. Fires in a BESS facility can result in a process called thermal runaway when a battery cell creates heat that cannot be dissipated. The resulting temperatures in the cell and adjacent cells creates a cascading effect within the facility resulting in fire and explosion.

It has been found that some fire suppression systems may not be ineffective against lithium-ion battery fires and that improper firefighting techniques may make matters even worse. Another hazard is that Chemicals released by a fire when mixed with firefighting water can also contaminate soil and ground water. This factor would indicate that local fire departments may require special equipment and the ongoing training of fire personnel during the life of the BESS. Who would bear those costs?

Lithium-ion batteries have a service life of from 25 to 30 years. Unfortunately, these batteries are seldom recycled because the recycling process is very complex, expensive, and technically challenging because of the need for careful disassembly to avoid safety hazards, and because of the wide variety of materials in the batteries.

Also, variations in battery design make it difficult to develop just one recycling method. Because of these factors lithium-ion batteries have a recycling rate of only 5% with the balance going to landfills. This is in stark contrast to lead acid batteries that are the most recycled consumer product in the U.S.

Another negative factor is that sourcing of lithium is not environmentally friendly. The MIT Climate Lab one ton of mined lithium produces nearly 15 tons of CO2. Further, according to the Howard Center at the University of Maryland it was found that the brining process for extracting lithium found in seawater uses millions of gallons of freshwater per year that can deplete groundwater and damage surrounding aquifers.

Promoters of BESS facilities dangle before our eyes the promise of greater grid stability, jobs, property tax bonanzas, and improved grid resilience during power outages because of backup power. It sounds good but I always say that seeing is believing. As for the jobs the facilities will bring I’ll bet that they will be built by contractors and their crews coming from out of state. Constructing a BESS isn’t like building houses where you can find skilled craftsmen almost anywhere.

I believe that Pelletter was right in asking “What is in it for the town?” The answer seems to be “likely not much.” It could even be nothing if Gov. Kathy Hochul’s headlong dive into full dependence on unproven green renewable energy is a failure with companies providing much of the new infrastructure going belly up. Then, in this worst case yet entirely possible scenario our beautiful county would be home to rapidly deteriorating wind turbines, solar arrays, and BESS facilities housing rapidly deteriorating Lithium-ion batteries that can catch fire and explode even if uncharged.

The county has blocked wind turbines from the Lake Erie shore, and I think that it is vital that a moratorium be called on all renewable energy devices until we can be sure that reliable renewable energy is here to stay.

Thomas Kirkpatrick Sr. is a Silver Creek resident. Send comments to editorial@observertoday.com.