The battery storage industry has made significant technological, regulatory, and operational improvements over the last several years to enhance safety, especially in response to fires. Some of those improvements included improved battery chemistries (shift toward safer chemistries like Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP)) and improved system design.

New national safety standards and technology improvements have dramatically reduced risk. These improvements show up in the data. According to the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), battery storage incident rates dropped by 97% between 2018 and 2023.

Battery storage fires are extremely rare. There are more than 2,000 battery storage systems operating in the U.S. In the history of the industry, there have been just 35 documented fires (as of August 2025).

In New York State, there are nearly 6,800 “commercial” energy storage projects completed and in operation according to NYSERDA (as of May 2025).

New York City has additional codes and safety standards.

Above all, Convergent is dedicated to ensuring the safety of our systems and the well-being of our customers, community partners, employees, and vendors.

Safety is at the core of our business; we are proud of our safety record and are confident in our ability to manage risks.

As with most electric grid infrastructure, fire is a primary concern when it comes to battery storage systems. Battery storage is a proven technology, and the risks are well-understood, so fires are rare, but that does not mean they never happen. We would like to tell you about our approach and safety record.

Our systems are monitored 24/7 through a mixture of automated sensors and human monitored cameras and controls. If certain alarms trigger, the system automatically shuts down. Human operators have a manual “emergency stop,” and our batteries have fire suppression systems in place to prevent spread. The goal of our fire suppression system is to contain the fire and avoid injury.

We have been operating battery systems for almost 15 years, as long as the industry has existed—and have over 900,000 hours of safe operations. During that time, we have experienced 4 fires. None of these fires cause any injuries, and no fire spread beyond the perimeter of its facility. Our root cause analyses identified the issues that led to the fires were product failures, and we used those findings to make improvements at other sites and work with other vendors.

In NYC, we use Tesla Megapack 2XLs which have a “Certificate of Approval” from FDNY. Tesla Megapack 2XLs are vertically integrated—the battery and inverter are both contained within the enclosure—and the containers have fire suppression mechanisms built in. You can learn more here: Megapack 2 XL Safety Overview.

New York States Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) inspects all energy storage projects supported by its programs prior to commissioning with a detailed checklist to make sure the system has been installed to code and has followed the regulatory requirements.

New York City has additional codes and safety standards. The Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY) has a separate process to approve individual stationary energy storage products for use in New York City. The Office of Technical Certification and Research has a similar equipment approval process for the New York City Department of Buildings (DOB). All code, location, spacing, and other local requirements must be met.

Convergent engages with local industry, government and community stakeholders such as: NY Battery Energy and Storage Technology Consortium (NY-BEST); NYC Planning; NY State and NYC colleges and universities (e.g., CUNY, Columbia, Pratt, NYU); CUNY’s Smart Distributed Generation Hub (Smart DG Hub); public schools; NYC Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC); NYC Mayor’s Office, including Mayor’s Office of Climate & Environmental Justice (MOCEJ); and the local AHJs including DOB, OTCR, FDNY, and Con Edison to collaborate and plan for future energy storage projects. This engagement empowers us and our partners to think through ways to improve future zoning, interconnection, permitting, safety and create opportunities to spread awareness and educate the public. 

We prioritize conversations with NYC council members in districts where our battery energy storage systems are located. Through these ongoing conversations, we have sought to better understand the specific community concerns regarding battery energy storage system facilities. This feedback has shaped our team’s ongoing engagement with elected officials, and their feedback has helped shape our engagement plans with their constituents.

We plan to implement the lessons learned from each community where we own and operate a battery energy storage system on how community members prefer to receive information and the most effective ways to address concerns. We have shared our contact information with local representatives to be available to answer constituent concerns or questions as they arise.

We acknowledge that each project and community is unique and will continue to work with local representatives and organizations to best meet the needs of individual communities.

We are also building a formalized process to gather stakeholder feedback throughout the project development and operations cycle.

The battery storage systems coming online in NYC—developed by Convergent or another company—are an essential part of the local utility, Con Edison’s, plans to improve local grid reliability and resiliency in the face of increasing demand for electricity. As a result, these systems are located where the need to improve reliability and resiliency is the greatest, and where they can easily be connected to Con Edison’s grid.

The amount of vacant ground floor space is sparse in NYC which limits the number of options for where these systems can be located. Proximity to electrical infrastructure (feeders) that can host/service these systems (e.g., have enough capacity available) is also a limiting factor. Neighbors may notice that systems are often sited adjacent to overhead poles in areas of the city where the infrastructure is “overhead.”

We look for sites that are manufacturing or commercially zoned that have been formerly used for things like truck parking, storage, or as a junk yard. We seek to redevelop properties that are “brownfields,” - land that has been abandoned or under-used and which may carry pollution or risk of pollution based on its previous usage. We prefer to redevelop sites like these while providing local grid benefits and leveraging local labor and domestic materials wherever possible. We appreciate the opportunity to connect with our neighbors, local council members, the borough president’s office and city agencies wherever possible.    

Convergent’s battery energy storage systems will bring job opportunities including Construction jobs, internship and apprenticeship opportunities will offer prevailing wages, hands-on learning, and the opportunity to gain experience in the fast-growing renewable energy industry. Though construction jobs are typically short-term projects (~5 months), Convergent is committed to contracting union labor for all its projects.

These systems should not disturb neighboring residents. From up close, the HVAC produces noise during periods of charging and discharging at the level of ~60-80 db, equivalent to a noisy restaurant, and the level of ~40 db, or a refrigerator hum, as you move further away.

You can learn more about Convergent’s values and commitment to sustainability in our 2024 Annual Sustainability and Impact Report.

Convergent’s battery energy storage systems contribute to New York State’s goal of 70% renewable energy by 2030, by reducing emissions associated with power production. Our company’s efforts to increase the amount of clean energy to NYC are not only aligned with the goals of the Climate Leadership and Protection Act (CLCPA), but also with NYSERDA’s five core outcomes: reducing greenhouse gas emissions; driving decarbonization; building New York’s clean energy economy; and aligning infrastructure, investment, and energy system planning to create a resilient and distributed energy system.