Oologah residents frustrated with proposed energy storage plant

Dozens of people in Oologah are frustrated about a proposed energy battery storage facility in town.

The city held a public meeting Thursday so people could learn about the project from the company, Black Mountain Energy Storage, and ask questions.

RESIDENTS FRUSTRATED

Many people in Oologah came to the meeting with questions.

“I was just curious as to what all goes into a battery facility,” said Christopher Ledgess, who lives in Rogers County. “How it converts the energy, where it gets it from, how long it can store it, what kind of life that the plant’s going to have.”

They’re worried about building the facility in a floodplain causing runoff toxic materials, and the facility catching fire.

They are also worried about where the plant would be located, south of the Family Dollar/Dollar Tree off Highway 169 and Old Highway 169.

“I believe that it’s in the wrong place,” said Robin Roberts, who lives in Oologah. “It’s in town. It’s right in our front yard, not in the backyard, there’s people that live around it. It’s an industrial facility, and that’s not what you should have in the middle of your town.”

They hope the town will reconsider.

“I don’t see it as a plus,” said Roberts. “Not at this time. We kind of get the cart before the horse when it comes to trying to think of green energy options. Sometimes we get a little ahead of ourselves, this may be one of those cases.”

“In the oil industry, we have to have a lot of safety built around the tanks to make sure if you have a rupture in a tank it doesn’t get outside and doesn’t pollute the area and environment,” said Ledgess. “I’m just kind of curious how they do that with the batteries. I think it’s probably part of the future. Just want to make sure it’s a safe future. You have to store wind and electric energy. You can’t just keep it running when it’s not going.”

WHAT DO COMPANY LEADERS SAY?

Dan Ditto is the Director of Land for Black Mountain Energy Storage. He says with the coal plant retiring in 2026, this will be a good thing for the town of Oologah.

“Proximity to the battery is good so if you are in Oologah, it will be the first town that if there is surging prices or if there’s a brown or blackout event, it reacts to the closest place,” said Ditto.

He says the main purpose of the plant is to keep the grid more stable and keep prices more flexible.

Ditto says the environmental impacts on Oologah, including runoff, would be studied and regulated.

“As far as environmental concerns, this is a highly regulated market,” said Ditto. “We go through environmental surveys, we work with the local engineers, county engineers, to make sure there is no runoff. We will be doing training with the local fire department.”

He says the only jobs that would be created by this plant would be the ones created by facility construction.

“As far as full-time jobs, it is operated off-site,” said Ditto. “So we wouldn’t have local people working on site, those would be operated off-site.”

WHAT IS BATTERY ENERGY STORAGE?

BMES says their facilities are connected to the electric grid and consist of lithium-ion batteries and battery racks, battery enclosures, and inverters to convert DC to AC electricity.

They say the Energy Management System controls and monitors equipment.

They say the project substation is interconnected to the utility substation.

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF BATTERY ENERGY STORAGE?

BMES says energy storage systems create a more efficient and resilient grid by responding to grid congestion to balance supply and demand, reducing electricity costs by providing energy to the grid during periods of high demand, and supporting local economies.

WHEN WILL THIS PROJECT BE COMPLETED?

BMES says it will file with the Southwest Power Pool, which manages the electric grid, on March 1. They say construction will last four years and the plant is expected to open at the end of 2029.

Before they can get approval, the land where they want the site to be built has to be changed from Commercial zoning to Industrial zoning.

The Oologah Planning Commission will vote on that Tuesday, and the Town Board will decide if they will accept that decision on Thursday.

WILL THEY PAY TAXES?

BMES says they will pay $67.6 million in property taxes to the region over the next thirty years.

Most of that money would go to the Oologah School District.

WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO THE COAL PLANT?

BMES says the Northeastern Coal Plant is planned to retire in 2026, which will cause grid constraints.

They say the proposed storage facility will combat electricity shortages and price increases.

WHAT ARE THE REGULATIONS TO PREVENT FIRES?

Fire consultants say the containers all have smoke, fire, and gas detectors and they are designed to not go from container to container.

They say the detectors activate the ventilation system, which shuts down power and sends a notification to the fire department.

Consultants say they will also do training with local fire departments on how to handle these fires.

WHAT WILL IT LOOK LIKE?

Engineers say there will be 10 feet tall batteries, but a mural will block the public from seeing them.

They say there will be a pond to collect runoff from the facility and the water will be treated and released. 

WHERE CAN I FIND MORE INFORMATION?

You can visit the website for Black Mountain Energy Storage here.