Letter: No, the Battery Energy Storage System does not compare to the battery in an electric vehicle

When residents raise concerns about large battery energy storage systems being placed near homes, schools, and churches, we are often told, “It’s no different than a Tesla car battery.”

That comparison is misleading.

A Tesla vehicle battery typically stores around 70 to 100 kilowatt-hours of energy. The battery system proposed for the Crossvine project uses Fluence’s Grid Stack Pro 5000 — a utility-scale battery energy storage system designed for grid operations. Dozens of these industrial battery units would be installed together, storing tens of thousands of kilowatt-hours of energy, the equivalent of thousands of electric vehicles packed into metal containers.

When a car battery catches fire, firefighters can usually contain it, cool it, and remove it from the area. When a large battery storage system like the Grid Stack Pro 5000 fails, the fire can cascade from unit to unit, burn for hours or days, and release toxic gases. In many documented cases nationwide, fire departments are instructed not to extinguish these fires, but to isolate the area, evacuate nearby residents, and let the batteries burn themselves out.

That difference matters — especially in rural communities served by volunteer fire departments with limited resources, limited water supply, and limited training for industrial battery fires.

A Tesla fire is a traffic accident.
A grid-scale battery storage fire is an industrial emergency.

Public safety decisions should be based on realistic risk, not comforting comparisons. Communities deserve honest answers and careful planning before facilities of this scale are placed near where people live, work, and worship.

Respectfully,

John Kaltenbacher
Holland, Indiana