The Connecticut Cerebral Palsy Alliance of Eastern Connecticut at 42 Norwich Road on July 16, 2024. The nonprofit opposes a battery storage facility that would be built next door. (Daniel Drainbill/The Day) Buy Photo Reprints The Connecticut Cerebral Palsy Alliance of Eastern Connecticut at 42 Norwich Road on July 16, 2024. The nonprofit opposes a battery storage facility that would be built next door. (Daniel Drainbill/The Day) Buy Photo Reprints The Connecticut Cerebral Palsy Alliance of Eastern Connecticut at 42 Norwich Road on July 16, 2024. The nonprofit opposes a battery storage facility that would be built next door. (Daniel Drainbill/The Day) Buy Photo Reprints
WATERFORD — An organization that supports people with disabilities says it’s concerned a lithium battery storage facility proposed for construction next door could create a noisy and stressful environment for users.
Officials with the United Cerebral Palsy Association of Eastern Connecticut also worry about the risk of fire from the facility, the fact that it will ruin the view and that noise could scare away potential clients.
UCP provides a range of services to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities at several locations, including the 42 Old Norwich Road building, which also houses six boardrooms and a food pantry.
In a June 14 letter to the City Council, UCP Executive Director Jennifer Keightley requested that the town oppose the project, which is currently before the Connecticut Siting Council, the state agency responsible for approving locations for electric facilities and transmission lines. Because of this oversight, the project does not require town zoning approval.
The town submitted a letter to the siting council on Wednesday saying it has the same concerns as UCP.
First Town Manager Rob Brule wrote that the town is concerned about the negative impact the facility will have on residents who are “particularly vulnerable due to their special needs” and who use UCP services.
He wrote that the town would oppose the plan unless the developer could keep noise from the facility below existing noise levels in the nearby neighborhood.
The approach is the same as what the town sought in a hosting fee agreement it signed with NE Edge last year for a controversial data center proposed on the Millstone Power Plant site.
“Replicating this approach will help protect the customers who rely on UCP’s critical care services every day,” Brule wrote.
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The project will build a storage facility for 48 lithium-ion batteries on adjacent one-acre parcels at 40 Norwich Road, east of the residential area and south of the UCP building.
The liquid-cooled facility would be capable of storing about 4 megawatts of energy from the power grid at a time and releasing that energy in less than a second, according to a petition filed with the siting council in March by Irvine, California-based developer Hanwha QCells America Inc.
Hanwha Q Cells, which describes itself as a developer and contractor of solar power and energy storage facilities, wrote in its petition that the facility is scheduled to begin operation in October 2026 and will help bring energy stability to areas with limited capacity to import electricity.
But Keightley wrote that the facility could cause significant disruption to UCP’s operations and the well-being of its customers.
Keightley said Tuesday that most of the 30 adult clients served by the building’s comprehensive care program are non-verbal or unable to walk without assistance, which runs weekdays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
“They come here to do nothing all day,” Keatley said. “This is their community space. This is where they come for recreation and socializing outside of the home.”
Keightley said patients experience increased anxiety, stress and behavioral responses to noise and visual stimuli, and some may need noise reduction.
She explained that if a client exhibits stressful behavior and needs to be calmed down, staff will take the client outside so they can have some quiet time on a patio or in a garden.
She said the area is about 14 feet from the perimeter of the battery storage facility and she was concerned customers would be bothered by noise from the facility.
According to Hanwha’s acoustic studies, noise from the facility will exceed state nighttime limits for homes on the west side of the facility, but not toward the UCP.
The study recommended building a wall to shield homes from the UCP, reducing noise levels to about 54 decibels in the direction of the UCP building and 43 decibels in the direction of the nearest residential building, both within state limits. A home refrigerator produces about 50 decibels of noise.
The petition submitted by Hanwha Q Cells to the siting council did not include the wall, and the town said Hanwha Q Cells is amending its application to include the wall.
Hanwha Q Cells was unavailable for comment Wednesday. The company last week asked the siting council for an extension of the deadline to answer a list of questions, including about noise and fire hazards. The new deadline for responses is Aug. 30, and the siting council has until Sept. 23 to make a decision.
“The batteries are a fire hazard and we’re in very close proximity to that,” Keightley said, “and the people we help have limited mobility. We have one staff member for every three people who use wheelchairs.”
According to the petition, Hanwha Q CELLS met with town officials, including Fire Chief Steve Dubicki, in February to discuss the project, after the company sent Dubicki detailed information about the facility’s safety features, including sprinklers and explosion protection.
Fire Chief Michael Howley, who was not at the meeting, said he was “not overly concerned” about the fire at the facility.
He said battery storage is a new technology, but fires are rare because of safety measures now built in.
There have been several instances of long-lasting fires at such facilities across the country: Two months ago, a 250-megawatt lithium-ion battery storage facility in San Diego, California, caught fire and burned for days before local fire officials were able to put it out. That facility was 62 times the size of the one proposed here.
Hawley said if a fire were to break out, there wasn’t much local firefighters could do other than try to prevent the fire from spreading to surrounding buildings.
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