Safety Fears Fuel Opposition to Manorville Battery Plant

Local state representatives are calling on Gov. Kathy Hochul to put the brakes on a proposed 150-megawatt battery energy storage facility in Manorville, warning that the project presents serious environmental and public safety concerns.

The Key Capture Energy project would be 30 times larger than Long Island’s existing 5-megawatt battery facilities.

“There are too many questions still out there, too many safety concerns,” said Sen. Dean Murray, announcing that he and Sen. Anthony Palumbo are sending a letter to the governor requesting a pause.

Murray pointed to a 2023 battery fire in East Hampton, where the cause remains unidentified and the Suffolk County Water Authority has filed a lawsuit over groundwater contamination.

“They’re saying, well, it wasn’t the battery fire, it was the suppression chemicals,” Murray said. “They wouldn’t have used the suppression chemicals if there wasn’t a fire in the first place.”

He questioned the wisdom of building a facility 30 times larger before those concerns are resolved. “Why would you do that? It’s insane.”

Assemblywoman Jodi Giglio agreed. “We need to think about the safety of the public, the trees, the Pine Barrens,” she said. “This has to be taken seriously.”

Murray also raised concerns about potential toxic fumes from battery fires and the ability of emergency responders to control them.

“Don’t experiment with our lives. Don’t experiment with our environment and our homes,” he said.

He also wants answers about where the stored electricity will originate and how transmission infrastructure will affect surrounding properties.

“There’s too many question marks and there’s been too many fires and too many problems,” Murray said. “Any kind of fire could affect the total environment as well as the drinking water.”

His message to the state is straightforward: “Just hit the pause button.”