On February 21, 2024, Associate Policy Director Dominic Butchko testified before the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee in support of SB 788- Battery Storage and Solar Arrays Safety Training Grant Program and Fund with amendments. The bill would provide resources to counties to both educate the public on the potential public safety consequences of utility scale batteries installed on solar installations and to better equip and train local firefighters.
Lithium-ion batteries generally, and utility scale batteries particularly, come with a slew of issues yet to be fully addressed by policy makers – to this end, MACo is working with House & Senate sponsors on bipartisan legislation to examine lithium-ion battery safety at all levels and present recommendations to state and local leaders. Unlike a traditional fire, utility scale battery fires burn hotter and longer, and may discharge a mass of toxic chemicals. The equipment, resources, and effort required to extinguish one of these fires is scales of magnitude higher than what many county fire departments can reasonably handle. In at least two instances, county officials were told by battery operators that if there is a fire in the area surrounding a solar installation (and its battery storage), to not respond with conventional first responders, and to instead evacuate the area immediately.
From MACo Testimony:
While counties acknowledge that utility scale battery technology is an important component in the evolving energy grid, it is also important that Maryland and its first responders understand and recognize the risks associated with this technology and adopt policy to address those realities. Counties request that SB 788 be amended to include training and education on the dangers of all utility scale batteries, not merely those connected to solar installations.
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