A group of residents asked town officials to set up a hearing to extend the moratorium on battery energy storage systems at a Town of North Hempstead meeting on Monday, Oct. 6. The moratorium expires in December.
The five residents want to extend the moratorium because they do not want lithium battery storage systems to be implemented. They would prefer a ban on the lithium battery storage systems, one resident said, but are first focusing on an extension.
Environmental advocate Christine Panzeca, who spoke at the meeting, said the lithium battery storage systems are unstable and toxic.
“Why do we have to put our communities and our residents at risk for this unstable technology when newer, better, safer, greener technology is on the horizon?” Panzeca said. “Nothing about this is green or clean. We don’t want to see our communities married to first generation technology that puts our health and safety at risk as well as puts environmental integrity at risk.”
The Town of Oyster Bay extended its moratorium for six months in September, and Sea Cliff extended its moratorium in October. The next moratorium that’s expiring in the area is North Hempstead, Panzeca said.
Panzeca said she hopes that at the town’s next meeting on Oct. 16, the board will resolve to set a hearing date for the extension of the moratorium. She anticipates that at a future hearing, community members will show up and advocate for an extension.
“There are residents from all over Nassau County who join together, and especially in our area, because we are a target for the lithium battery storage,” Panzeca said. “The residents in our communities are pretty active.”
