BRIDGEWATER, NJ — Concerns over fire safety and an off-record meeting for a proposed lithium battery energy storage system in Bridgewater's Finderne section were raised by the Township Zoning Board.
During its second hearing on Tuesday, Rockland APV Bridgewater Energy LLC continued to present its application for a battery storage facility proposed on the property, at the corner of East Main Street and Polhemus Lane, which is owned by Somerset County Improvement Authority (“SCIA”) and is currently used by the County as a maintenance yard.
The Applicant has an agreement with SCIA to lease a portion of the property.
"We heard from you indeed, personally, Mr. Chairman, at the last meeting. How safety is obviously a question that the board would like to have addressed," said attorney for the applicant, Glenn Pantel.
In response, the applicant had Leonard Deonarine prepare an emergency response plan.
"He was in prior contact with fire officials in Bridgewater as well as in Somerville, and also prepared a report that responded to some issues that had been raised as a result of an incident that occurred in Arizona some seven years ago," said Pantel.
The fire being referred to broke out at an APS McMicken Battery Storage Facility in Surprise, Arizona in April 2019, according to Azfamily.com. Four firefighters were severely injured when they opened a door to the building, which created an explosion, throwing the firefighters into a fence.
Bridgewater Zoning Board Chairman John Kulak added that while the Arizona fire was seven years ago, there have been more recent fires.
"You can do a search anytime and find fires as recently as December of 2025 in lithium battery and energy storage facilities. Some of which, quite frankly, are mind-boggling to watch. So, it's not only that one particular fire... but looking at the industry as it's matured and still suffering from some of the early technology perhaps," said Kulak.
The Environmental Protection Agency(EPA) has cited two other recent Battery Energy Storage System(BESS) fires.
On May 15, 2024, Gateway Energy Storage Facility in San Diego, California, experienced a BESS fire with continued flare-ups for seven days following the fire.
That facility held about 15,000 nickel manganese cobalt lithium-ion batteries, according to the EPA.
On January 16, 2025, a BESS fire broke ou at the Moss Landing site in Monterey County, California, resulting in a 24-hour evacuation of about 1,200 residents.
Kulak also raised concerns about a meeting involving fire officials from Somerville and Bridgewater and representatives of the applicant.
He said the board had no professionals present and was being asked to consider a changed position from Somerville without a record of what happened.
"It concerns me that a fire official would change their opinion based on testimony or conversations that we had no representative that was privy to," Kulak said.
Pantel said the meeting was arranged after reports were issued by the Bridgewater fire official and a Somerville fire official.
He said applicant consultants, not attorneys, met with them to discuss the reports and explain the application.
"We're not asking the board to accept the outcomes of a meeting," said Pantel.
He also said the board should rely on testimony and reports submitted in the case, including an emergency response plan and a report from Jensen Hughes with Deonarine's company addressing the Arizona incident.
Board attorney Rich Oller said it is not unusual for engineers to discuss reports outside a hearing, but he added, "I think the concern is that Bridgewater wasn't involved at the same time at an in-person meeting; it's not something that just happened on a telephone or Zoom call or even a Zoom call we could have been involved in."
Pantel said the "whole purpose of the meeting was to explain better what was submitted because obviously the application, the bare bones application, didn't address in the level of detail that has since developed in the emergency response plan... So again, the only purpose was to have some constructive dialogue."
The application by Rockland APV - Bridgewater Energy LLC was carried to July 28 at 7 p.m.
The application is seeking preliminary and final major site plan and minor subdivision approval, with variance relief, to subdivide the property into two new lots and construct on one of the subdivided lots a new battery energy storage system (“BESS”) facility, which will include BESS unit batteries, a control structure, and related site improvements.
To see the full application, click here.
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