Copyright Staten Island Advance
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Three large concrete perimeter walls are being constructed to surround one of Staten Island’s burgeoning battery energy storage system sites, a step that developers say is part of NYC’s standard regulatory process for fire safety and noise mitigation. “Every site we build includes some form of perimeter walls or fencing, designed in accordance with FDNY and Department of Buildings requirements for all battery storage projects in New York City,” NineDot Energy, the project’s developer, noted in a statement when questioned about the walls at 287 Nelson Ave. in Great Kills, which are similar in height to the house adjacent to the facility. “What’s being built at the Nelson Ave. site are not retaining walls. They are engineered sound and fire barriers that were reviewed and approved as part of the standard FDNY and DOB permitting process.” According to Nine Dot, the design of the barriers is guided by a Hazard Mitigation Analysis and an Acoustical Analysis, which evaluate fire safety and noise mitigation to ensure full compliance with FDNY rules and the NYC Noise Code. And while the walls are different and significantly larger than those installed at other NineDot sites, the company noted the wall design at Nelson Avenue follows the same process and safety standards as all other battery energy storage system sites across the city. “Every site we build has walls or fencing around it. While each site design is unique, the rules we follow are the ones laid out by the FDNY and DOB for all battery storage projects in New York City,” the company noted on its website. NineDot added: “Overall, these walls are another example of our commitment to safety and our strong partnership with FDNY — widely regarded as the most expert fire department in the world.” NineDot, a Brooklyn-based developer of urban clean energy solutions, has more than 50 projects in some phase of development, construction or operation in The Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island and Westchester. According to the company’s website, it operates seven commissioned battery storage projects across four locations in The Bronx and Staten Island, all ready to provide low-emissions power to the grid at times of peak demand. The Advance/SILive reported on this particular Nelson Avenue site in March 2023, when Borough President Vito Fossella questioned its siting — sandwiched between a residential home and a Citgo gas station. A technology that uses a group of batteries to store electrical energy, allowing the energy to be released later when needed, the storage system sites — commonly referred to as BESS — essentially act as backup power sources for homes or the grid, particularly during peak demand or power outages. They are often used in conjunction with renewable energy sources like solar power. Developers and green energy proponents tout the lithium-ion structures — which started popping up in several NYC neighborhoods in 2022 — as quiet neighbors that are a necessary agent for renewable change. They are designed to remove pressure from the city’s stressed grid, using rechargeable batteries to store electrical energy from various sources, and then releasing that stored energy when needed. But over the past two years, borough residents and local officials have voiced concerns about their siting. Community Boards voted against their proximity to bakeries and storefronts and elected officials issued a moratorium on applications filed within residential districts. In one instance, an energy developer retracted plans to place batteries in a Bulls Head church parking lot. Plans to construct an eight-acre battery energy storage system on a busy strip of Victory Boulevard in Travis were also recently scrapped after the company responsible for its development missed several key decommissioning plan deadlines.
