Islip Town Board bans large-scale battery energy storage facilities

The Islip Town Board unanimously passed a ban on large-scale battery energy storage facilities in the town, a move at their Tuesday night meeting that follows years of efforts by the town to restrict battery systems over safety concerns.

The ban imposed by the five-member board prohibits any new battery storage facility with a capacity of more than 600 kilowatts per hour from functioning in Islip Town, according to the town’s resolution.

Islip Town Supervisor Angie Carpenter summed up the new policy by saying, under the code, large-scale energy storage systems are "not permitted, totally not allowed — banned."

"Just in case anyone doesn't get the idea, we too are passionate, and we too care about the residents of this town. And that’s precisely why we worked on putting this resolution together," Carpenter said.

The ban follows at least two previous moratoriums Islip Town has implemented on battery energy storage facilities. Islip initially banned the facilities in 2024, then extended that prohibition last year, Newsday previously reported.

The most recent moratorium was set to expire at the end of this month. The town's new prohibition does not have an expiration date, according to Islip spokesperson Caroline Smith, who confirmed the ban will remain in place indefinitely.

At least six other Long Island towns — Babylon, Hempstead, North Hempstead, Oyster Bay, Smithtown and Southold — have previously enacted moratoriums on new storage facilities.

Islip’s frequent prohibitions have largely stemmed from fears of the battery facilities catching fire and burning uncontrollably. Opponents have pointed to a battery plant in California that burned for days last year and spread toxins throughout the area.

And an East Hampton facility broke into a thermal runaway battery fire in 2023, Newsday previously reported.

Those types of incidents have prompted officials like Hauppauge Fire Commissioner Scott Munro to back bans on the energy facilities.

"I’m not against renewable energy. I’m against irresponsible development," Munro told the Islip Town Board at the meeting. "Large scale lithium-ion battery systems can experience thermal runaway. When that happens, fires can be extremely difficult to control."

A company called Key Capture Energy, or KCE, has proposed a battery facility in Hauppauge for years. Its representatives have said the facilities have improved their safety capabilities dramatically.

"We strongly urge the town to reconsider the proposed 600 kilowatt-hour cap on battery energy storage systems," Lucia Yu, senior manager at KCE told the board. ... "Simply put, these systems are safe and pose no unique risk to the public and public health."

By Sam Kmack

sam.kmack@newsday.com

Sam Kmack covers the Town of Islip for Newsday. He is a graduate of the University of Southern California and previously worked as a city watchdog reporter in the Phoenix metro area, as well as an investigative journalist at the Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting.