US – Developer proposes lithium-ion battery facility in Adirondacks
The Adirondack Park Agency this month will consider an application for a 5-megawatt lithium-ion battery storage system located less than half a mile from Great Sacandaga Lake in Fulton County, the second such proposal in the Adirondack Park after one failed in Raquette Lake.
The agency is accepting public comments through Jan. 8 and will consider the project at its Jan. 22-23 meeting. Comments may be submitted at https://tinyurl.com/yexvcv6t.
Carson Power, a solar and storage developer that leases land from owners in New York and Illinois, is sponsoring the project.
The storage system proposed at 1030 State Highway 30 by Gif’s Auto Center is about eight miles north of where solar developer Boralex has a state permit to build the largest array in the Adirondack Park – 40 megawatts in the town of Mayfield.
The battery storage system includes two 5-megawatt AC, four-hour storage systems, each containing six lithium-ion battery units. The units would be in a fenced enclosure on a 0.85-acre parcel, including gravel access, equipment pads and electrical grid connections.
The project also requires a special use permit from the town of Northampton, which Carson Power said it conditionally issued on Dec. 3, 2025. Reached by phone on Dec. 23, the town clerk deferred questions to the code enforcement officer. The Explorer could not immediately reach the code enforcement officer or town supervisor.
The town held a public hearing on the project in November, according to Carson Power officials in application materials. Five people spoke, four with concerns and one in support, the company’s representatives said.
One of the main public concerns in a past battery storage proposal in the Adirondack Park remains the same in Northampton – the fear of the system catching fire. National Grid and developer Rev Renewables had planned to install a similar system in Raquette Lake, but after the public’s continued concerns over the environment and public safety, the developers backed out in early 2024.
While a report by the Fire & Risk Alliance, provided by Carson Power in its APA application, states that these fires are uncommon, just last month, a lithium-ion battery storage facility erupted in flames in Orange County and burned for days.
Two battery storage facilities caught fire in New York during the summer of 2023, one in Lyme and another in Warwick. The Lyme fire lasted five days.
The report uses the Lyme and Warwick fires as case studies documenting 35 large-scale battery-associated fires in the United States. The report includes lessons learned, environmental monitoring information and potential fire causes. In both the Lyme and Warwick fires, the report notes, air and water sampling did not show any health risks to the public.
In response to the public concerns raised so far, Carson Power representatives included some emergency response planning for local fire services and provided all of the various certifications the facility will have to meet.
Carson Power officials highlight the benefits of such a storage facility, including how it will help New York reduce its carbon footprint. Battery storage facilities absorb excess energy from the grid when demand is low, then provide energy back during peak times.
Carson Power’s application notes the project will have a financial benefit to the area by “[offsetting] expensive grid-supplied power, helping keep energy prices more stable and affordable.”
It said,
The company also will contribute to the area’s taxes,
The APA first received the application on Sept. 29, 2025, and issued a notice of incomplete application on Oct. 14. The APA had questions about wetland restoration in the project area, noise impact and proposed site access. Agency staff also required Carson Power to provide additional renderings of the storage facility from different viewpoints and to change its proposed plantings on the site to ones native to the Adirondack region.
On Dec. 9, the company submitted additional information and the agency deemed the application complete on Dec. 17.
This story originally appeared in the Adirondack Explorer, a nonprofit news organization covering people and policy inside the forest preserve.
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