NEW SCOTLAND, N.Y. (NEWS10) -RIC Energy has been looking to expand into the Capital Region. The company said the non-profit New Scotland Beagle Club reached out to them as a potential site for a battery farm on its property in Feura Bush.
“There’ll be five Tesla battery units on the site. It’s very secluded, it’s away from residences but it’s also zoned appropriately,” described Weston Hillegas. The project manager explained that the batteries draw energy from the power grid when it’s least expensive like at night when most people are asleep and not using much electricity. “Electricity will be discharged when it’s most needed at high peak times. So that’s generally when people get home from work or on their air conditioning units so it’ll create reliability and resiliency.”
The proposal is under review by the New Scotland Planning Board. Jeffrey Baker said this doesn’t necessarily make local energy rates cheaper but does contributes to a stronger power grid.
“We have another one that was recently submitted for three times the size. New Scotland is the confluence of various high-powered lines and we have one of the largest substations in the state so we’re a logical connection for these and we may be getting more,” explained Baker.
But RIC Energy needs to prove to the town that the Tesla batteries are safe and won’t cause a fire. The company is scheduling training with local fire departments this weekend. “They’ll come to a site if there’s any sort of incident which is highly unlikely but their goal is to stop the spread of anything from the battery units. Very little use of water is even needed. Just let it kinda fizzle out on its own. Takes about four to six hours,” said Hillegas,
“We’re gonna open the public hearing at our meeting which is the first Tuesday in October. It may be kept open depending on the information that’s developed and what the public concerns are,” added Baker. He expects the board to come to a decision in two to three months.
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