VOICE-OVER SCRIPT:

An installation of powerful lithium-ion batteries outside Buffalo, New York, can power 15,000 homes for two hours.

SOUNDBITE (English) Chris Linsmayer, Key Capture Energy, Public Affairs “So this is only about two and a half acres…the facility you see behind us is actually the state's largest right now.”

New York wants to dramatically increase the number of these utility-grade lithium battery energy storage systems across the state by 2030. Similar efforts are underway nationwide.

SOUNDBITE (English) Chris Linsmayer, Key Capture Energy, Public Affairs

“These are coming in every market across the country…it's really about meeting this growing electricity demand and making sure that we can remain competitive and grow our economy.”

The U.S. electric grid doesn't typically store energy; electricity is produced and consumed almost immediately.

SOUNDBITE (English) Elizabeth Stein, State Policy Director, NYU School of Law Institute for Policy Integrity “We're needing to build more grid very quickly to meet load growth. And that's placing a premium on how efficiently can we use the system that we have.”

These batteries charge using electricity from the grid during times of low demand, and they feed stored power back into the grid for immediate use during times of peak demand or power outages. The electricity comes from a variety of sources including nuclear power, hydroelectric, natural gas, wind, and solar power.

SOUNDBITE (English) George Williams, Nearby Resident

“I think it would be a good thing, you know, especially, I mean, we get bad winters here. So power goes out, you know, kind of frequently, you know, but so it'd be good to have a good backup plan…But that would be my first concern is what about the safety of it? … Is it toxic? … What happens if they go bad?”

Earlier this year, a fire at a lithium battery facility in California, run by another company Vistra Energy, led to evacuations and heightened scrutiny over the safety of large battery energy storage systems.

However, the industry is confident these installations are safe.

SOUNDBITE (English) Chris Linsmayer, Key Capture Energy, Public Affairs

“You look at the shipping containers behind me there are hundreds thousands of cells in each one of them they are all monitored in real time multiple data points are being taken every second and so if something isn't operating correctly we can remotely turn off either a small portion, an entire container or the entire system…it really is quite safe. New York State actually just updated their fire codes to be some of the strictest in the country so any system coming along to meet those 2030 goals is going to meet those new standards.”

SOUNDBITE (English) Elizabeth Stein, State Policy Director, NYU School of Law Institute for Policy Integrity

“I have a cell phone in my pocket right now and I'm wearing another battery on my wrist and they're not blowing up. To the extent that larger storage devices could pose any kind of risk to the public, it's really important to make sure that they don't and that we can achieve the reliability benefits, the huge societal benefits that come with increased electric reliability and in the most affordable manner.”

Americans are demanding more and more electricity. There is now a surge in demand from data centers for artificial intelligence and crypto mining, along with electricity for transportation, building heating, and new manufacturing, including semiconductor factories.

SOUNDBITE (English) Elizabeth Stein, State Policy Director, NYU School of Law Institute of Policy Integrity

“Reliability saves lives. Winter Storm Uri killed over 200 people in Texas. Most of the winter storm deaths were attributable to the power outages, it was things like hypothermia and exacerbation of underlying medical conditions that couldn't be treated.”

Texas responded by building lots of these battery energy storage systems, and today, their electric grid is at a much lower risk of a blackout. New York regulators want the same reliability.

AP video shot by Ted Shaffrey