Sustainability Advocates Defend BESS Plans

With more wind and solar power coming on the grid in the near future, infrastructure plans call for battery energy storage systems where excess electricity can be stored at times of peak production and then withdrawn overnight and at times of peak demand. But in communities where a BESS is proposed, neighbors are concerned about fire and environmental risk. To assuage those concerns, Southampton Town Councilman John Bouvier and sustainability consultant Lynn Arthur join reporter Kitty Merrill and the editors on the podcast this week to discuss how a BESS works, how the batteries differ from other lithium batteries and the safety protocols that are put in place.