OOLOGAH, Okla. — The Oologah planning commission will soon vote on a rezoning request for land on the outskirts of town. Black Mountain Energy, a Texas-based company, is proposing an energy storage facility for the property.
2 News first reported on the project after a Jan. 16 town hall meeting. Now, following up, looking at the effectiveness and safety of such facilities.
“For me, it’s actual fear,” Heidi Steele said of the project. She’s part of a group of Oologah residents organizing a petition against the project. At last check, the petition had garnered about 700 signatures.
Before the Jan. 16 meeting, 2 News interviewed Dan Ditto, director of land for Black Mountain. He assured everyone the company is acutely aware of all the risks.
“We will be doing training with the local fire department, so there’s a lot of regulations that we have to go through to ensure it’s fully safe,” Ditto said.
The facility proposed by Black Mountain and similar plants can be prone to fire.
In fact, on Jan. 17, a fire broke out at a similar facility in California. No injuries have been reported. Standard practice for firefighters in these types of situations are simple; let it burn. That was the plan for firefighters in California, and the recommendation of a consultant hired by Black Mountain.
“When you have fires, maybe it can be contained in that facility, but the air quality will not be contained,” Steele said.
As for the effectiveness it’s dependent on a lot of factors.
In theory the facilities are a great help to the grid; but everything must work efficiently and with near perfection.
The Environmental and Energy Study Institute published a report, explaining the facts of battery banks.
“Personally, I don’t like the whole idea,” Steele said, “I certainly don’t feel that it should be going in the location that they have it planned for.”
Ditto was unclear on how many fully operational facilities Black Mountain currently operates.
In other words, the book is still out on their venture. The Oologah planning commission will vote on the land’s zoning during its Jan. 21 meeting.
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