Jupiter Power presents benefits of battery storage unit

The proposed Oyster Shore Energy Storage facility, a battery storage project by Jupiter Power, could replace the existing oil terminal at Glenwood Landing with a 275-megawatt battery energy storage system. While Jupiter Power has emphasized the project's potential to improve local power grid reliability and reduce the risk of oil spills in the area, residents and community leaders have mixed opinions about the safety and environmental impact of the facility.

The Oyster Shore Energy Storage project aims to connect with the Long Island Power Authority's nearby substations along Shore Road, providing an opportunity to clean up existing contamination at the current oil terminal site. In a statement sent by Jupiter Power spokesperson Maggie McGlynn, the company emphasized the potential benefits of collaboration between the facility and the Town of Oyster Bay if residents and elected officials end up approving the project’s construction.

“Jupiter Power is committed to a comprehensive local community engagement process for the Oyster Shore Battery Energy project, as with all of our projects, and looks forward to hosting an open house soon to answer any community concerns,” the statement read. “If approved, the project will represent a significant financial investment in the Town of Oyster Bay and aims to generate local tax revenue for the municipality for the life of the project.” 

The company highlighted the potential for decreased truck traffic and lower risks of oil spills in Hempstead Harbor due to the transition from oil storage to battery energy storage.

“Once construction is completed, normal facility operations will not directly produce fumes, pollution, odor, dust, or other offsite impacts that would result in health impacts to those nearby,” the statement read. “The project would decrease ongoing local traffic loads relative to operations at the current oil terminal.”

The statement added that the project would adhere to the latest local, state, and national safety standards and regulations, working closely to ensure the safety of residents in the area. It particularly emphasized the importance Jupiter Power places on safety and the safety concerns of the community.

“Jupiter Power holds safety as the top priority for all our battery energy storage projects,” the statement read. “We coordinate closely with first responders during project development and throughout the project's life and prioritize providing them with the continued resources and training they need to respond to any event that may occur, however unlikely.”

Despite these assurances, some residents remain skeptical. Chris Zublionis, the superintendent of the North Shore School District, said that although the district was interested to know how the project could offset the district’s financial issues following the LIPA settlement, Jupiter Power still has a long way to go to proving the safety and benefits of the Oyster Shore Energy Project to district residents.

The superintendent also emphasized that the community needs to evaluate whether the benefits of the project, including potential tax contributions to the school district, outweigh safety concerns.

"Understandably, residents have a lot of concerns about the safety, and I think those have to be addressed, absolutely," Zublionis said. “This is something the community needs to decide, in terms of its worth to the community.”

Dave Martin, a Glenwood Landing resident and former teacher with a bachelor's degree in physics, said that while residents have a right to be concerned about new major power projects such as this one, he thought that the knee-jerk reaction to oppose the project, including a change.org petition with nearly 900 signatures, was “way out of bounds.”

“This could help the country go greener,” Martin explained. “There’s a lot of good things to it unless there’s a significant increase in the danger.”

Martin said that in order to understand the actual risk, the company should provide more information regarding energy storage, which refers to the total amount of energy stored at the site. The company frequently described the project as a “275-megawatt battery energy storage system,” but according to Martin, wattage measures how quickly the energy moves, not how it is stored. In the statement from Jupiter, the company did not explain what their planned energy storage was, but instead reiterated that 275-megawatt figure.

Jupiter Power has expressed its commitment to engaging with the local community through open houses and public meetings to address concerns and build support for the project, which it plans to hold in the coming months. Pending successful permitting, the project could represent a significant financial investment in the Town of Oyster Bay and generate local tax revenue for the municipality.