Amid moratoriums blocking the construction of utility-scale battery storage facilities across Long Island, the Town of Brookhaven said Friday it is about to host one of the first new battery storage units to be built since LIPA approved two units on the East End. In 2018.

Construction of a 1.9-megawatt battery facility on property owned by the Town of Brookhaven in Patchogue is expected to begin within two weeks. The property is at 550 North Ocean Ave. near Sunrise Highway. It will be built behind the existing city vehicle repair garage at and foreclosure site on the property.

There is a funeral home on one side of the property, a church across the street, and wooden bumper houses to the west and north. Its location at the back of the yard would keep it a safe distance from nearby homes, Town Attorney Annette Eaderesto said. He said the town fire chief reviewed and approved the site plan.

Fran Lunati, who led Brookhaven residents in opposition to a much larger battery storage facility proposed for Holtsville, said she was “shocked” to hear the town approved the facility without public input.

“I had no idea about this,” he said. “My fears are still there. They’re jumping into these things without safety being their first priority… I feel like it hits too close to home.”

Brookhaven Town will receive an annual lease payment of about $10,000 for the batteries on its property and a 10% discount on its energy bills, Eaderesto said. Because it’s town-owned land, the property is tax-exempt, so battery developer Agilitas Energy Inc. will not pay taxes.

“This is not a big project,” Eaderesto said. He said the batteries will be kept in four separate containers behind the vehicle repair building and will be surrounded by trees when finished. “It will be completely scanned,” he said.

Brookhaven has approved the Holtsville project, which officials say is needed to help store energy from the Sunrise Wind farm, which has long been supported by the town, and will add more than $100 million in community benefits and tax payments over two decades. The Holtsville facility will be located well off the Long Island Expressway’s South Service Road, just west of the Island 16 movie theater.

The Sachem Central School District sued to block this project and many local residents, including Suffolk Legis. Anthony Piccirillo (R-Holtsville) objected to its proximity to homes, schools and businesses.

Brookhaven is among only a few Long Island towns that have not declared a moratorium on battery storage units, which came under scrutiny following a fire at a facility in East Hampton last May. Two other units experienced fires outside the city, and Gov. Kathy Hochul convened a task force to study them and enforce stricter fire safety rules.

The Patchogue storage unit, like others around the state and country, will be a lithium-ion battery. Eaderesto said that batteries are necessary for the transition to green energy because the wind does not always blow and the weather is not always sunny, so the grid needs backup power. “If you’re going to do (green energy), you need these batteries,” he said. “The Town of Brookhaven believes we can have them and they can be safe.”

The facility occupies “just a small corner” of town-owned land, Eaderesto said. “This is an area we don’t really use,” he said. “We tried to keep him away from all the houses.”

A Newsday reporter since 1999, Mark Harrington covers energy, wineries, Indian affairs and fisheries.