BACKYARD NY / PROJECT REGISTRY
REC #006 · STATUS: ∅ NEVER PROPOSED
∅Never proposed

Hurley BESS Moratorium

Town of Hurley · Ulster County · Hudson Valley

Hurley has no battery project of its own, but pressed neighboring Ulster for a full environmental review and enacted — then extended — a moratorium it is now moving to make a permanent ban.

IMG · GOOGLE PLACES Town of Hurley · Ulster County
Sector
ENERGY-STORAGE
Location
TOWN OF HURLEY · ULSTER COUNTY · HUDSON VALLEY
Process
MORATORIUM BANA local pause (moratorium) on new projects while rules are studied — or an outright ban. · LOCAL ZONINGLocal zoning — town/village land-use rules and special-use permits. Standalone battery storage is sited locally under home rule.
Source confidence
MEDIUM-HIGHmedium-high — the moratorium, its February 2026 extension, and Hurley's push for a full review of the neighboring Terra-Gen project are corroborated across independent local outlets (Hudson Valley One, The Overlook). The town's own resolution pages returned 403 to automated fetching, so the exact local-law number and the status of the proposed permanent ban (reportedly defined around a 40 kWh threshold) still need confirmation from the Town Clerk.

Background

Town of Hurley · Ulster County · Energy storage · Status: never-proposed (precautionary moratorium)

A restriction without a project

No battery storage facility has been proposed in Hurley — the Supervisor has noted the town has no substation to host one. The driver is next door: the 250 MW Terra-Gen / Alcazar project in the Town of Ulster, which would interconnect at the Hurley substation. (Hudson Valley One)

On September 30, 2025, the Hurley Town Board unanimously enacted a six-month moratorium on large-scale BESS and wrote to the Town of Ulster, the City of Kingston, the county, state officials, and FERC seeking a full environmental review of the neighboring project. (Hudson Valley One; The Overlook) In February 2026 the board extended the moratorium and urged Governor Hochul to preserve local control over renewable-energy siting; it has since been drafting a permanent prohibition on large-scale storage. (Hudson Valley One)

Chronology

For it

  • Assemblymember Sarahana Shrestha & Senator Michelle Hinchey — found 'no safety flags' on the neighboring Terra-Gen project, citing NY's advanced fire codes (Sept 2025) [source]
    no safety flags

Against it

  • Hurley Town Board — unanimously enacted a 6-month moratorium on large-scale BESS (Sep 30, 2025) and wrote to Ulster, Kingston, the county, state officials, and FERC seeking a full environmental review of the neighboring project [source]
  • Mike Boms, Hurley Town Supervisor — 'putting it in the middle of a residential area is just insane' [source]
    putting it in the middle of a residential area is just insane
  • Hurley Town Board (Feb 2026) — extended the moratorium and pressed Governor Hochul to preserve local control over renewable-energy siting [source]

Context — not for or against

Analysis

Hurley shows how a single sited project radiates outward: a town with no battery proposal of its own becomes one of the loudest voices for review — and a candidate for a permanent ban — because the facility next door would plug into its grid and sit near its residents. State legislators Shrestha and Hinchey found "no safety flags" on that project, while Hurley's board pressed for the full SEQRA review the Town of Ulster ultimately ordered. Hurley's move toward a permanent prohibition, rather than a time-limited pause, is the same trajectory seen in Montgomery and Plattekill.

Sources

// every field traceable to a primary source · outcome classified per documented record · BACKYARD NY