Date & Time of our next meeting: March 31st (Monday) at 7 p.m.
Location: Grayson County Courthouse (Activities Room), 100 W. Houston Street, Sherman
[Enter thru the Lamar Street entrance across from Knight Furniture. Doors unlock at 6:30 and lock automatically at 7:20. We will provide a phone number to call if you arrive late.]
What is B.E.S.S.? It stands for Battery Energy Storage Systems, and they are coming to Texas
The meeting will discuss this recent invasion into our lives and our local communities. Our meeting is to raise awareness about the potential dangers and hazards these lithium battery facilities pose to the environment and public health.
Our main speaker is Nancy White, a citizen activist from Van Zandt County. We have also invited a member of ENGIE and others involved in challenging B.E.S.S. facilities in their communities.
A B.E.S.S is currently being built in Savoy (Fannin County). There they are building a 300 megawatt facility 700 yards away from an elementary school -- just outside the city limits. The company is renting the land from a local farmer. The entire town was unaware of what was going on until they are now just a couple of months away from completion. And, we are told, there are plans to put 940 to 1,000 of these throughout the state. They are popping up everywhere.
ENGIE, a Houston- based company, states “the system holds energy in batteries so, if the grid starts to struggle, the facility can pump in stored energy.” The lithium batteries are stored in metal storage units. At a recent town hall meeting the citizens discussed some of the problems being introduced to the area: the volunteer fire departments are not trained nor equipped to fight a toxic fire like the one at Moss Landing Power Plant in CA. Being built near a school and near the river, the community is unhappy, to say the least, about possible air and water pollution in case of fire.
One solution the Texas communities have is to form a 391 commission.
Plan to attend Monday!
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