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Fire Officials Oppose Battery Energy Storage System in Tarrytown
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June 30, 2025
By Rick Pezzullo—
Local fire officials are continuing to throw cold water on a proposed Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) at 120 White Plains Road in Tarrytown.
During several public hearings in June, Tarrytown Fire Chiefs Raymond Tuohy and Patrick Derivan urged the Board of Trustees not to amend the village’s Zoning Code that would allow Catalyze Tarrytown to move forward with its Tesla megapack energy grid.
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“This is going to be an environmental nightmare. There’s a lot of unknowns with this,” Derivan said. “There’s more hazards than what will be benefits to the village. It’s bad stuff. To put it in that area of town is not the right thing to do.”
Tuohy agreed the BESS situated in a low area would make it difficult for firefighters to respond to an emergency.
“My biggest concern is the location. Heat and smoke rise. The houses there are up on a hill,” Tuohy said. “There are so many different variables with this. It could be as safe as possible, but when all hell breaks loose, we’re the ones responding.”
Douglas Warden of Snyder and Snyder, representing Catalyze Tarrytown, insisted the BESS would benefit consumers by helping during peak use and lowering costs.
“BESS systems are here and they’re an important part of our energy grid,” Warden said. “This is good for business, too.”
Two BESS grids are already up and running in Hawthorne and Yorktown Heights, while others are proposed in Valhalla, Chappaqua (two) and Mount Vernon.
Dean Gallela, co-chair of the Tarrytown Environmental Advisory Council (TEAC), expressed his support for the project.
“It’s a crucial part of our environmental build up of renewable energy,” he said. “I think this is an important step that we pass this law.”
On the other hand, resident John Stiloski maintained the BESS brought with it “very real dangers.”
“There is no clear benefit to Tarrytown residents,” he said. “This is a project that doesn’t need to be here.”
The public hearing on the BESS was left open by the Board of Trustees for further discussion in July.
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