The energy company will discuss plans for a 50MW battery storage facility in Shoreham at its Wading River Civic meeting on Thursday evening

Representatives from Key Capture Energy, a company looking to build a 50-megawatt battery energy storage facility on LIPA’s land in Shoreham, will make a presentation to the Wading River Civic Association on Thursday evening.

“The project has been tentatively proposed,” Key Capture Energy representative Phil Denara said in a telephone interview Tuesday.

Currently, the company conducts social activities. “Our goal is to provide a very inclusive process and ensure that all stakeholders are engaged throughout the application process,” Denara said.

“We have submitted the draft full site plan and SEQR documentation to PSE&G,” he said. “PSE&G is informally reviewing this and providing our team with final feedback. Then, pending formalization, the application will be sent to LIPA to formally begin the SEQR review process.” LIPA will be the lead agency for the review.

Key Capture hopes to begin construction in the fourth quarter of 2025, Denara said.

The site, located in the town of Brookhaven, is “perhaps the most ideal location for a battery storage project in the town,” Denara said, “given the existing uses on the site and the lack of impact to any environmentally sensitive receptors or community sensitive receptors, etc.” – he said.

The 57-acre site is already developed and includes a closed nuclear power plant built in the 1970s and 1980s, a 138 kV substation and the Cross Sound Cable, which connects the LIPA power grid to suppliers in Connecticut. The BESS facility would be built on a portion of the property on the western side of the site that borders more than 300 acres of forested, undeveloped land owned by National Grid.

The civic association meeting will be held Thursday at 7:30 p.m. at Wading River Congregational Church, 2057 North Country Rd., Wading River.

Battery energy storage systems, known as BESS, store electricity for distribution to the electrical grid during periods of peak demand or when renewable energy production from wind or solar farms cannot meet demand.

Currently, BESS facilities typically use lithium-ion batteries for energy storage, and newer facility designs provide independent battery units with internal fire suppression systems to extinguish any fires and prevent chain reaction events.

Battery energy storage installations are widely seen as essential to the sustainability and reliability of renewable energy and are considered an important part of plans to achieve the state’s goals to transition away from fossil fuel energy production, which increases emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the environment. Earth’s atmosphere.

Concerns about the safety of BESS facilities have led some municipalities to implement moratoriums to temporarily halt permitting and facility construction pending local or state determinations regarding fire and safety regulations.

Last summer, fires at three BESS facilities, including one in East Hampton, prompted Gov. Kathy Hochul to create a fire safety task force to examine the design and operation of BESS facilities and make recommendations for improvements. The working group, made up of government officials from several different agencies, issued draft recommendations in February. The public comment period ended on March 5. No final recommendations have been made yet.

Aiming for a zero-emission energy grid by 2024, New York State has set a goal of achieving 1,500 MW of energy storage by 2025 and 3,000 MW by 2030, the year by which the state aims to achieve 70% renewable energy Electricity.