Members of the same grassroots coalition of Glen Head, Glenwood Landing and Sea Cliff residents who pushed back against the proposed Oyster Shore Energy Storage doubled down on their efforts to cancel a separate project focusing on modernizing Long Island’s aging electric transmission system and secure an outright ban on lithium-ion battery facilities near homes in the area.
More than 70 residents gathered at the American Legion Post 190 on Glen Head Road in Glen Head for a rally on June 5 featuring speeches from government officials, leaders of local civic organizations, activists and North Shore residents.
“Let’s all tell Governor Hochul: Hell no, Propel must go!” Rob Mazzella, a Glen Head resident and critic of the project, said. Several attendees brought signs, reading “Our town, our say, Propel stay away,” “not in our town, shut it down” and “stop Propel” among others.
The Propel NY project proposes to introduce three new underground electrical transmission connections across Long Island.
The $3.2 billion project proposes 89.7-miles of underground transmission lines spanning multiple New York counties. Construction is slated to begin in mid- 2026 and will continue for up to four years, with project completion anticipated by mid-2030. Crews are expected to progress between 50 and 150 feet per day.
Transmission lines have been installed in residential areas both overhead and underground for decades. New York has 11,000 miles of transmission lines; 241 miles of those are underground 345kV lines similar to the Propel NY project.
“Health and safety are top priorities for the Propel NY Energy project from planning and permitting, through construction and into the long-term operation of the asset. During and after construction,” Susan Craig, the director for media relations at the New York Power Authority, said.
She added that Propel will “prioritize safety and minimize traffic and land use impacts on the public by creating robust traffic management, maintenance protection, transportation, and environmental management plans, as well as coordinating with first responders to ensure reliable access of emergency vehicles and services at all times.”
Doug Augenthaler, a Glen Head resident and vocal critic of the projects, argued that the community opposition is not because they are opposed to green energy, despite the rally being centered around banning two projects whose developers have maintained will have positive impacts on the environment.
“We are not anti-green. We are pro-safety,” Augenthaler said. “We are pro-smart investments; we don’t want to waste billions of dollars on dead projects.” Offshore windmills, battery storage facilities, and the Propel NY project were some of the projects that Augenthaler said “don't pass
the smell test.”
The project now awaits permits from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for construction and for work affecting waterways or wetlands, as well as the State Public Service Commission's Article Seven, which includes full environmental, engineering, and constructability reviews.
Craig expressed confidence in Propel's safety and ability to meet state requirements.
“Propel will fully comply with all New York State and Federal regulations and standards. As part of our state permitting, a comprehensive Electric and Magnetic Field (EMF) study was conducted and is part of the public record,” Craig said.
“This study confirms that the project will fully comply with New York State’s EMF standards. Additionally, independent scientific reviews have consistently found that EMF from power lines does not cause adverse health risks.”
Speakers at the rally also called for an outright ban on lithium-ion battery facilities in the area, citing the possibility of another developer using the current Global Petroleum terminal at the corner of Glen Head Road, Shore Road, and Glenwood Road near Tappen Beach in Glenwood Landing.
Jupiter Power cancelled its contract to build the Oyster Shore Energy Storage facility in May. The Texas-based battery storage company owned by BlackRock had proposed to build a 275-megawatt battery energy storage system.
"This is a dangerous situation created by our state government, and one that should be subject to
local control, not state control,” Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman said in a pre-recorded video message from Albany. “Local communities should determine what is in their
communities.”
Several speakers referenced the wildfires that happened at the beginning of the year in California.
The fire hit the oldest group of batteries installed at Moss Landing, a 300-megawatt array, in January. The incident resulted in the evacuation of more than 1,000 residents, road closures, and a wider emergency alert warning residents nearby to stay indoors.
“We are all united on not having these types of storage facilities in our local neighborhoods. They are dangerous. We do not have the ability to put these fires out,” said Nassau County Legislator Samatha Goetz, whose legislative district includes Glen Head, Locust Valley, Oyster Bay, and East Norwich. “Just take a look across the country and see all the fires in California or Arizona. We don't want to be the next ones.”
While there have been several reported fires at lithium-ion facilities in California and Arizona, the most frequent cause of wildfires in both states includes unattended campfires, discarded cigarettes, equipment malfunctions, arson, and careless behaviors according to each state's Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
“I support green energy for the most part, technology has to catch up,” Nassau County Minority Leader Delia DeRiggi-Whitton said. “I was very straight with Propel, there is a lot we don’t know about them.”
Over the course of the last year, Propel has held 26 public information sessions where the public could ask questions and receive information according to Propel’s website.
DeRiggi-Whitton, whose district includes Sea Cliff, Glen Cove, Glenwood Landing, and Glen Head emphasized the importance of maintaining local control, echoing the same point of Blakeman despite their opposition on a wide range of political issues in the past.
“We need to keep our local government in charge,” the county legislator said. “We decide before anything happens.”
Christine Panzeca, one of the event’s organizers, concluded the rally with a plea to the federal government.
“We also call on the president and his cabinet in the Army Corps of Engineers to look at these projects and project Propel and our harbor,” she said. Panzeca also urged officials in Washington to “look into the state’s energy policies and the impact to residents, our waterways and communities like ours. It’s just unjust what’s being done to Long Island.”
