Hi friends,
This is a topic I don’t believe many are aware of.
Americans are being told that massive battery farms—known as BESS (Battery Energy Storage Systems)—are the key to a “green” and reliable future. Supporters say they’ll stabilize the grid, store renewable energy, and smooth out the highs and lows of solar and wind.
But here’s the reality: for all the money, land, and water being poured into these projects, the payoff is tiny. A utility-scale battery farm may provide two to four hours of backup power, sometimes only enough to cover a few thousand homes. That’s not real energy independence. That’s a band-aid—one that comes with very real hazards, land grabs, and even national security risks.
Hazards Few Want to Talk About
Fire and Toxic Smoke: Lithium-ion BESS units are prone to thermal runaway. Once a fire starts, it feeds on itself, burns for days, and releases toxic gases. Firefighters often can’t extinguish them safely.
Real-World Incidents: From Arizona to New York, BESS fires have forced evacuations and sent toxic plumes into neighborhoods. Unlike oil, gas, or nuclear, these failures don’t spread across counties—but they endanger anyone nearby.
California’s Moss Landing – In January 2025, the world’s largest BESS in Moss Landing, CA, burst into flames inside an enclosed concrete structure, forcing 1,200–1,500 residents to evacuate as toxic smoke permeated surrounding neighborhoods. Firefighters could not extinguish the blaze and allowed it to burn while the EPA and local agencies scrambled to manage environmental fallout. Regulators responded with emergency mandates—tightening oversight and demanding emergency plans for all BESS facilities. (People needed medical treatment as far away as 18 miles.)
Toxic Runoff: If a battery facility leaks or burns, the byproducts can seep into soil and groundwater. Communities that depend on nearby aquifers are left with long-term risks.
Land Grabs Disguised as “Green Progress”
BESS siting doesn’t happen in empty deserts—it’s happening where people live and farm. Rural communities are being pressured to host battery farms, often alongside sprawling solar fields, new transmission corridors, or even carbon pipelines.
This creates a clash zone:
Private land and aquifers on one side.
Infrastructure, easements, and corporate projects on the other.
Property owners frequently have little say. In some cases, eminent domain or zoning loopholes give corporations more leverage than families who have farmed or ranched the land for generations.
The irony? Batteries aren’t a “source” of power. They consume land but can’t produce electricity—only store it temporarily.
The Water Problem
Behind the steel and wires, BESS facilities demand water, too:
Manufacturing: Lithium extraction and refining are water-intensive, draining aquifers and stressing already fragile water systems.
Operation & Safety: Some battery facilities require water for cooling and fire suppression. In regions already fighting over scarce water—Texas, the Midwest—this adds one more competing demand.
So while communities face restrictions on well use, irrigation, or even backyard water hoses, corporations are guaranteed water rights for industrial energy projects.
The Security Threat Nobody Wants to Admit
Beyond fires, land, and water, BESS brings a new dimension of risk: foreign control.
In Texas, the Lone Star Infrastructure Protection Act (LIPA) was supposed to keep Chinese technology out of the grid. But loopholes and weak enforcement have already allowed Chinese-made parts to slip into Dallas County projects.
No single agency enforces LIPA, and ERCOT’s attestations aren’t catching prohibited components before installation.
The FBI has labeled CCP espionage a “grave threat” to U.S. democracy and economic stability. Reports of “rogue” devices in Chinese-made inverters, plus the 2024 Volt Typhoon cyber warning, show how grid manipulation could happen.
Hithium and CATL, two Chinese battery giants, are building and supplying BESS systems in Texas—even after Duke Energy decommissioned CATL batteries at Camp Lejeune over security risks.
Taxpayer funds and state incentives—sometimes up to $100 million per year—are subsidizing foreign-owned facilities, raising the question: are we paying for our own vulnerability?
This isn’t just about energy. It’s about sovereignty.
Property Rights, Freedom, and Empty Returns
At its core, the BESS boom is less about reliable power and more about subsidies, mandates, and control.
Taxpayer Subsidies: Billions of dollars are flowing to projects, many owned by foreign companies, while American communities carry the risks.
Minimal Return: Hours of power storage for huge swaths of land and water loss.
Erosion of Freedom: When landowners are told to give up property, aquifers, or peace of mind for “green” projects that deliver so little—and may even be foreign-controlled—that’s not progress. That’s control.
Bottom Line
BESS may have a role to play in short-term grid balancing. But the push to blanket communities with industrial battery farms—without transparency, without respect for property rights, and without safeguarding against health, property and foreign influence risks—should alarm us all.
For all the slogans about a “green future,” what we’re really seeing is a land and water grab dressed up as progress, with ordinary Americans bearing the cost and risk for almost no return.
Other ways to make a difference:
1. Awareness:
“Know what’s happening in your own backyard—foreign-owned infrastructure is being marketed as a local jobs win, but it raises serious sovereignty, safety, and water concerns.”
2. Engagement:
“Ask city and county officials: Who owns these facilities? What oversight exists? How are first responders prepared for a fire? How much water is allocated, and who approved it?”
3. Advocacy:
“Contact Texas leaders and demand stricter enforcement of the Lone Star Infrastructure Protection Act (LIPA). If it isn’t preventing Chinese-made systems in Dallas County, it isn’t doing its job.”
4. Protection:
“Support reforms requiring:
Independent third-party inspections for all BESS installations
Mandatory disclosure of foreign ownership or financing
Local hearings and transparency before siting industrial batteries near homes or aquifers”
Sources:
Nancy4Thinking - Motivated citizen to protect land and share truth.
“CATL, a CCP-funded and supported firm … raises the question of whether CATL systems have been installed at other U.S. military installations.” — Senators Hagerty & Rubio
“Chinese government ties to CATL, embedded party committees, and military-civil fusion policies create risks of malware and sabotage through battery energy storage systems.” — Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD)
“Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) from Chinese suppliers create three categories of cyber threats: grid trips, hardware damage, and economic impacts to utilities.” — Villarreal, 2024
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