Battery storage is safe in New York

OpEd by Tom Von Essen published in the Daily News

I ran the FDNY for six years, and before that I spent 26 years in the firehouse. In that line of work, you learn to evaluate risk honestly. You look at the data, you talk to the people who handle the equipment, and you make a call. When people ask me whether battery energy storage systems belong in New York neighborhoods, that is the standard I apply.

My answer is yes. The FDNY leaders, fire engineers, and emergency management officials who reviewed this technology, walked the facilities, and helped write the state code reached the same conclusion. Battery storage built under New York’s current rules is safe.

Communities across New York are weighing moratoriums, and the questions people are raising are fair ones. Anyone would want to know what happens if something goes wrong near their home.