On 19 December, a fire occurred at energy storage developer Convergent Energy & Power’s Church Street Battery Storage Facility in Warwick, New York, US.
According to the Village of Warwick, a fire alarm was activated at the battery energy storage system (BESS) facility, triggering an emergency response plan.
The fire was confined to one container, and there were no reported injuries. Orange County Hazmat began providing continuous air monitoring at the site at the start of the event.
The Warwick mayor’s office stated that hydrogen cyanide reached a level of 0.5 parts per million near the facility during the fire. This is about half of the federal safety limit.
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Downwind monitoring sites registered zero readings. Monitoring persisted until 22 December as battery temperatures dropped and cleanup and investigation efforts commenced.
The facility is located on private property within a Light Industrial District and received land use approval in 2021. Notably, the mayor’s office stated that Warwick “has no rental agreement, financial interest, or business relationship with Convergent Energy.”
These units are intended to supply electrical backup to the grid during peak or emergency energy needs. When the fire occurred, the batteries were fully charged and later reduced to 50% capacity as a safety measure.
Although unconfirmed, the fire might have resulted from water infiltration. Severe weather conditions before the event could have played a role.
The system has been disconnected from the power grid, internally disengaged, and tarped. Damaged batteries are expected to be removed, and a comprehensive investigative report will be conducted. Warwick has requested further testing of the surface, soil, and water and is in the process of hiring an independent consulting engineer.
Village legal counsel has formally notified Convergent that the company must cover all expenses related to cleanup, testing, engineering, and police services. The letter also notes the “unauthorized” system activation.
Additionally, the Building Department has issued a Notice of Violation and a Condemnation Order. Convergent currently does not possess a Certificate of Compliance because it has not met the enhanced safety monitoring requirements, and therefore, the facility should not have been operational.
Additional safety requirements were implemented following two previous incidents involving Convergent projects.
In 2023, a Church Street unit overheated, which was also believed to have been caused by moisture infiltration.
Moisture infiltration was also identified as the cause of another fire incident in Warwick, which happened during heavy storm conditions.
Both systems used Powin’s Centipede modular BESS solution. It is unclear if the Centipede BESS was still in use at Church Street. However, the causes of the incidents are all attributed to water infiltration.
Convergent said in 2023, “Convergent, which purchased these systems from Powin, does not have this model deployed anywhere else and was among the first customers to receive the system from Powin. The Powin Centipedes are the only systems that are currently experiencing problems at Convergent’s Warwick, NY projects.”
At that time, Convergent noted that both projects utilised equipment from system integrator and manufacturer Powin Energy, which during last year went bankrupt. The majority of Powin’s assets have since been acquired by system integrator FlexGen.
If Powin’s Centipede BESS was still in use, this would make FlexGen responsible for servicing the system. Speaking with ESN Premium in August, Kelcy Pegler, CEO of FlexGen, said that his company “felt compelled to step up” and ensure the continuity of operation of some 11GWh of Powin projects in the field.
It is also important to note that according to the mayor’s office, “Following the incidents in 2023, the Village Board and Village Engineer requested additional safety monitoring, which was dismissed by both the battery manufacturer and Convergent.”
Energy-Storage.news asked Convergent for comment on the manufacturer of the latest system to catch fire and whether it had, in fact, dismissed requests for additional safety monitoring, but did not receive a response by the time of publication.
The Energy Storage Summit USA will be held from 24-25 March 2026, in Dallas, TX. It features keynote speeches and panel discussions on topics like FEOC challenges, power demand forecasting, and managing the BESS supply chain. For complete information, visit the Energy Storage Summit USA website.
