To the Editorial Team: There has been no shortage of publicity as well as public commentary at Ulster’s Town Board meetings on TerraGen’s proposed 250 MW lithium-ion battery energy storage facility (BESS) at the former Coleman high school campus on Hurley Avenue.

The TownOfUlsterCitizens.org deeply appreciates the passion for personal safety and environmental integrity expressed by our neighbors in the Town of Hurley. However, we disagree with the strategy they recommend: an immediate moratorium.

Hurley’s recommendation is well-intentioned, but late. The Ulster Town Board stepped up to be the lead agency for the NYS/SEQR [State Environmental Quality Review] process. Given the size and potential impact of such a BESS project, the TerraGen proposal requires a detailed and fully vetted review that comes only with a SEQR “positive declaration” that involves “scoping” and extensive “public review.”

The last developer to propose a peaker plant in our town was Glidepath in a process that lasted from 2017 to 2022. GlidePath wanted to install a 20MW fossil-fuel power-generation peaker plant on a wooded site close to homes. The “positive declaration” process generated two alternatives that never came to fruition: a 20MW BESS (then, a somewhat-new concept) on a different site away from homes. In addition, the Town Supervisor championed a town law that rejected all future proposals that require a NYSDEC air permit. That stance is stronger than a moratorium, but it has no application to the peaker proposal before us.

TerraGen’s BESS proposal is almost 13 times larger than Glidepath’s. The impacts of their BESS, NYS regulatory compliance, and personal safety issues are mostly unknown and, therefore, require clearer, deeper understanding.

Hurley’s recommendation for a moratorium, even if it were legal, would stifle public voice and valuable information that a “Positive Declaration” under SEQR law would generate. This necessary process will be a long haul, as it should be.

Laura Hartmann

Regis Obijiski

Town of Ulster