Jamestown Board of Public Utilities meeting on May 18, 2026
The Jamestown Board of Public Utilities has approved two contracts to install battery energy storage systems at the power plant and Buffalo Street Pump Station.
General Manager Kris Sellstrom said the battery energy storage systems would provide backup power for critical systems, “Buffalo Street is one of our primary water pump stations that pumps water up to English Hill Reservoir from our well fields. So, that battery storage system will provide direct backup to that facility and enable the pumps to continue to operate, as well as mitigate blackouts and things during new closing events, or kind of that dirty water scenario where you get for intermittent trips that will help mitigate some of that, and then provide hours of backup storage for the pump station to continue to operate during an outage.”
Sellstrom said one thing they hope to build into the project is the ability for the BPU to back feed the distribution system to help power nearby Ring Elementary and Washington Middle Schools during an outage. He said the battery system at the Power Plant will help provide backup power for all of the District Heat pumps, the control room, as well as the control facilities at the plant.
Sellstrom said the board approval to contract with Stark Tech Operating Company to build 5 MegaWatt/20MWh Battery Energy Storage Systems at the Steele Street Power Plant and Buffalo Street Pump Station will allow the BPU to apply for $18 million in funding through NYSERDA for the $20 million project. He said there could be up to $1.5 million in investment tax credits from the Federal Government as well.
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