Previously Published in The Messenger
By Matt Meduri
In December 2024, the Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) and developer Key Capture Energy approved a Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) Facility for 220 Rabro Drive in Hauppauge.
Immediately, the proposal drew near-universal opposition that resulted in the Islip Town Board passing three back-to-back, six-month moratoria against BESS facilities to evaluate the nascent technology. In September 2025, the Board voted again for a twelve-month moratorium on any such facilities from being developed within the Town of Islip.
That moratorium expires next month, but perhaps the staunchest critic of these sites, the Hauppauge Fire Department, has not relented on their campaign.
In fact, the Hauppauge F.D. has been considered by many in the community to be the de facto regional leader against BESS facilities for a multitude of reasons.
Firefighters and public safety personnel have opposed the construction of these sites due to conventional firefighting methods being ineffective against lithium fires. Not only do these fires emit a cocktail of toxic chemicals – fluoride, lithium, cobalt, nickel, manganese, lead, cadmium, and flammable vapors like methane and butane — the standard operating procedure for extinguishing fires is to simply let them burn out themselves.
Depending on the scale of the fire, it can take days or even weeks. A San Diego BESS Facility burned for five days and prompted evacuation orders – a common example cited. Locally, County Executive Ed Romaine (R-Center Moriches) recently demanded the closure of a Wainscott BESS facility after nearby wells were found to be contaminated. The Town of East Hampton is making similar demands.
The conversation is of national importance, so much so that last August, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin (R-Shirley) visited Hauppauge to brief the public on the federal government’s prerogative.
The particular project that was originally slated for Rabro Drive caused concerns of safety of the nearby Bretton Woods Elementary School, the fire department’s inability to contain these fires, its proximity to major thoroughfares like I-495, NY-111, and NY-454, the County Center off Kings Highway, and possible contamination of the Nissequogue River. The proposed location sites just miles away from its headwaters.
Hauppauge Fire Commissioner Scott Munro said at last August’s meeting of the Islip Town Board that the proposed Rabro Drive facility was 79 megawatts. The aforementioned East Hampton facility that contaminated potable water and soil was just 5 megawatts.
On Tuesday, the Hauppauge F.D. issued a statement claiming that the Suffolk County Fire District Officers Association (SCFDOA) has “formally expressed its support” for Hauppauge’s position regarding the Rabro Drive facility. The association represents 96 fire districts throughout Suffolk.
The association joins the Hauppauge School District in opposition. Their concerns are in tandem with Executive Romaine’s written concerns of such facilities.
Two new letters add “significant momentum,” according to the Hauppauge F.D., and that the concerns surrounding the Rabro Drive facility “extend well beyond” Hauppauge.
“This is no longer the Hauppauge Fire District standing alone and sounding the alarm,” said Commissioner Munro. “The Hauppauge School District has stood with us in opposing this location. Now an organization representing 96 fire districts across Suffolk County is supporting our position, and the Suffolk County Executive is acknowledging that the East Hampton fire raises serious questions that demand stronger safeguards. That is a growing and significant coalition of voices saying that public safety must be addressed before projects like this are allowed to move forward.”
The Hauppauge F.D. continues to state that opposition to this facility is not akin to “opposition to renewable energy or battery storage technology itself,” rather where the facilities are being placed and what is put at risk when they are placed in the wrong location.
“We have been asking one fundamental question from the beginning: Why put a 79-megawatt lithium battery facility in a location where so much could potentially be placed at risk?” Commissioner Louis Zara said (pictured top right). “There are some locations where the consequences of a major incident are simply too great. We believe 220 Rabro Drive is one of them.”
The district is renewing its calls for the Islip Town Board to extend their existing moratorium. The August motion passed the board in a unanimous 5-0 vote.
“We welcome new technology and a cleaner energy future, but progress cannot come at the expense of public safety,” Commissioner Munro said. “The Fire District, our School District and fire service leaders from across Suffolk County are raising legitimate concerns. The County Executive has recognized the need for additional safeguards. We are asking our elected officials, Key Capture Energy and LIPA to listen. Find a location that does not unnecessarily place a school, neighborhoods, first responders, major roadways, groundwater and one of Long Island’s important natural resources at risk.