Cass County Battery Storage Hearing in North Dakota Draws Dispute: Casselton's Fire Department Responds but Has No Say in Approval
On Oct. 23, the North Dakota Public Service Commission held a hearing in Casselton on a large battery energy storage project in Cass County called Harmony Storage, to be sited next to a solar plant under construction in Harmony Township and developed by Minnesota-based Geronimo Power. At the hearing, Commission Chair Randy Christmann voiced a concern: if a fire breaks out at the storage facility, the Casselton Fire Department will be the one responding, yet Casselton has no say in approving the project. A major risk of large battery storage is thermal runaway fires; company representatives assured the three commissioners that fire risk is low and the system is designed to prevent spread. Casselton Fire Chief John Heil said in an interview afterward that fighting a battery storage fire is similar to fighting an electric vehicle fire, with containment as the key; his department serves 12 townships, has met with Geronimo about fire response for the solar plant, and expects to discuss the storage project as well. Christmann said at the hearing that it still worries him that a township approves a project while the developer then tells the fire department how to respond if something goes wrong. The commission has not yet made a final decision on the project.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：法戈市中心（资料图）。照片：Wikimedia Commons（CC BY-SA 2.5）。downtown Fargo (file photo). Photo: Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.5).
