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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowA Colorado energy company is seeking a five-year, $3.6 million tax abatement to build a battery farm in Pike Township that it says will help stabilize electricity supply and prices during peak demand hours.
Peregrine Energy Solutions, based in Boulder, Colorado, told the Metropolitan and Economic Development Committee of Indianapolis City-County Council on Monday evening that the battery farm would store electricity during times when there’s excess power on the grid and then discharge the energy back into the grid during times of peak demand.
“Most of the time, what we see is that peak demand window is late afternoon, early evening, when everybody’s getting home from work, kids are getting home from school, you’re turning on the air conditioning in the summer, heat in the winter,” project manager Kevin Conger told the committee. “And when everybody in a community is doing that, it causes the energy demand to spike. … So battery energy storage is really where you rely on that energy, other than having massive price spikes.”
The two-year-old startup, backed by private equity firm KKR of New York City, wants to build the development on about 15 acres of land at 4025 W. 86th St. It is buying the land from Ascension St. Vincent Hospital, located at 2001 W. 86th St. The site is about two miles west of the hospital.
Peregrine initially plans to invest $144 million in the project, which will consist of several dozen lithium-ion phosphate batteries housed in containers about 10 feet tall.
The proposal does not include any new jobs, as the development is highly automated. Peregrine will monitor the site remotely.
Conger said the company is in its early stages, and it has not yet completed any similar projects, although several are under way.
The plan calls for Peregrine to connect the development to an AES Indiana substation on the site, and from there to the grid.
The company is seeking a 5-year, 51% tax abatement on equipment on the site. The savings would start at $1.1 million in the first year and decrease each year to $513,940 in the fifth year. Peregrine is not seeking an abatement on the real estate. The company hopes to begin construction in early 2027.
The committee voted unanimously Monday to advance the tax abatement request to the full council, which will consider it at its Dec. 2 meeting.
Many councilors spoke highly of the project, which they said could stabilize electricity prices and help the local community. Several councilors asked about environment impact and the possibility of fire issues. Conger pointed out the likelihood of explosion is very low, and a fire station is nearby in case of emergency.
He added the the environmental impact is minimal, as the project would have no exhaust, no emissions and no runoff. The company said it plans to preserve as many trees as possible on the wooded site.
Councilor Leroy Robinson, whose district includes the Peregrine development, said he met with the company several months ago and he supports the project.
“I just wanted to say I’m really excited about the project,” Councilor Jared Evans said. “In fact, if you guys are looking for another location, talk to me. I’ve got some spaces in my district. This is the future in my eyes.”
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A BESS 2 miles from a hospital. Are they just out of their minds? Is no one fighting this? Has no one educated the decision makers on the dangers of these things? Read this article. It’s not often that an executive from the renewable industry offers such a candid assessment of the dangers of lithium Ion batteries which are the vast majority of BESS installations. From operation to disposal, the dangers are real. When someone from the industry sounds the alarm, we should pay attention. They do not belong in any community.
(1) “…the rapid proliferation of devices powered by lithium-ion batteries has brought significant safety concerns to the forefront. From e-bikes to electric vehicles to utility-scale energy storage, lithium-ion has revealed it has a flammability problem…While the flammability issue is out in the open, the challenge extends beyond just fire risks. Throughout their lifecycle lithium-ion pose additional toxicity risks that can threaten health and safety.”
(2) “…the dangers of battery fires from systems deployed in the field extend far beyond the immediate flames. Another aspect is when these batteries ignite or rupture, they release an off-gas that can be extremely dangerous to human health and the environment. Among the most dangerous emissions is hydrogen fluoride (HF) gas, which can be fatal in atmospheric concentrations as low as 50 parts per million, as well as other harmful substances like carbon monoxide and volatile organic compounds. The large-scale battery fires that occurred in the past year involved multiday firefighter response efforts and emergency evacuations because of the atmospheric toxicity risk.”
(3) “…Even fighting lithium-ion battery fires with water can cause contamination, as the emissions from lithium batteries can combine with water to form toxic runoff that leeches into the soil and groundwater.”
(4) “…Lithium-ion batteries are classified as hazardous waste because of the high levels of cobalt, copper, and nickel, exceeding regulatory limits…(these)batteries have lower value materials to be recovered via recycling, which may mean they get disposed of instead of properly recycled. This has some very concerning implications for when large volumes of LFP batteries reach end-of-life.”
Full article:
https://pv-magazine-usa.com/2024/11/08/from-production-to-disposal-addressing-toxicity-concerns-in-lithium-batteries/?fbclid=IwY2xjawGhj8VleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHcf8dKpomZGNbuzuBEW1K6CIUM5MWnFwy0L5X7YNA4rHFVwxAOiAEqJNgA_aem_ibiKQYxlwXSLrlFMSIUr0A
You’re completely and utterly misinformed. None of that information has anything to do with this site – these are not Lithium Ion batteries! They’re Lithium Iron Phosphate.
Look up the BESS fire in Escondido–the one where the town issued a “threat to life” evacuation. Well, after a few days, it burned itself out (a relatively short time–the one in Otay Mesa in May 2024 burned for 17 days). These chemical fires are notoriously difficult to put out and typically can’t be doused by conventional firefighting methods.
And the town’s response? The city council voted unanimously to ban all battery energy storage sites until they can figure out safety issues, proper zoning and a better emergency response plan.
Do your homework Pike Township Council. Learn both sides of this issue before you leap into this.
Did my homework. That’s a different kind of battery. Completely unrelated.