Battery fire incident inspires moratorium

The village of Warwick on Monday adopted a local law that places a temporary moratorium on the acceptance and processing of applications for public utility facilities that operate energy storage systems. The law was proposed in response to fire-related incidents that occurred at two energy storage facilities last June.

During the public hearing held prior to the enactment of the moratorium, questions were raised about how Convergent, which operates the energy storage systems, would address the issues that led to the fires. Trustee Carly Foster referred Warwick community members to the online availability of the presentation delivered by Convergent at an earlier village board meeting.

The village board clarified that the moratorium applies to all potential public utility facilities applicants (including but not limited to those operated by Convergent) and will not impact residential or commercial use of energy storage systems. Furthermore, the law allows for exceptions to the one-year moratorium if the village board deems it to be in the best interest of the public.

With the Convergent facilities shut down and a moratorium on potential new facilities in place, the village board acknowledged the increased burden on Orange and Rockland. The energy storage facilities were built to offset the strain on the energy grid.

“Without these battery backups, where are we? This summer was okay, but if there is a great demand, where are we?” said Mayor Michael Newhard.

Orange and Rockland addressed this concern in an email correspondence with Warwick Village and expressed interest in discussing its role in mitigating energy demand at a future meeting.

“We are working with engineers to evaluate the situation for this area. We will have an update regarding this sometime in early December,” said Theresa Manera-Mason, Regional and Community Affairs manager for Orange and Rockland Utilities.

Despite questions regarding O&R’s ability to manage the increased energy demand, Warwick village residents expressed support for the moratorium.

“I think a moratorium is a good idea in light of the unexpected results that we saw here and elsewhere in New York State,” said Warwick village resident Scott Brown.

Other Business

Monday’s board meeting also included an announcement about the village of Warwick general election to be held on March 19, 2024. The village board shared that two trustee positions will be open for election at that time. The trustees elected will each serve for a five-year term.

Among the other issues discussed during the village board meeting was a special use application to establish a three-family dwelling at 43 Wheeler Avenue in the village of Warwick. Patrick Corcoran, who made the application, answered questions from the board and the community, during public comment. Keith Murphy, a Warwick village resident, read a statement of support from the neighboring residents of the potential housing unit. After Corcoran addressed potential issues of parking, availability of outdoor space and prevention of short-term rental use, the board expressed favorability toward the project, but opted to hold off on voting to approve the application until a written resolution was in place.