A city meeting in the central Kansas town of Halstead grows heated during a debate over a proposed battery storage facility.

 

A Massachusetts-based energy company Concurrent is hoping to build a battery energy storage system or BESS in the city limits of the Harvey County town. The BESS units would use lithium-ion batteries to store enough electricity to power 200,000 homes for up to four hours. City residents showed up in force to voice their opposition to the facility. Most told city leaders that they were afraid the facility might pollute nearby farmland or cause adverse health impacts on residents.

 

Those in favor of the project stated that the project would help alleviate congestion on the power grid and would be available for the community during emergencies.

 

A similar proposal was made to communities in southeast Kansas last fall by S-M-T Energy of Boulder, Colorado. That company approached the City of Independence, which turned down the offer, as well as Montgomery and Labette Counties. The proposed site in Montgomery County included a possible facility near Liberty and another near Dearing.