Could your land serve a local battery-storage project in New York?

Start with the actual utility request

As of October 5, 2026, National Grid lists an open New York request covering seven locations, with responses due November 3, 2026. Check the official directory for changes before relying on that deadline.

The request names West Adams, Alder Creek, Gasport, Lyndonville, Pleasant, East Pulaski and LeRay. It seeks local grid support from solutions that can include batteries. These are electrical-service targets, not a list of eligible parcels or guaranteed projects.

If a developer mentions a utility opportunity, ask for the published request and the specific location it is pursuing. Have it explain what its battery would do and why your property is being considered. Is there a proposed project on your land, or is the company still comparing several sites?

Identify the company that would sign the land agreement. Ask whether it would also develop and operate the battery or later transfer the project to someone else. A utility’s name on a presentation does not explain who would owe you rent or answer for work on your property.

Reference: National Grid: current non-wires alternative opportunities · National Grid: 2026 request for solutions at seven New York substation locations

Find the connection area before comparing acreage

The request includes target-feeder maps and directs bidders to National Grid’s New York System Data Portal. A feeder is an electrical circuit; its service area does not necessarily follow town or ZIP-code boundaries.

Ask the company to show your parcel and the proposed connection on the same drawing. Which line would serve it? How would the cables reach that line? Would the route cross a neighbor’s property or require work along a road?

Separate what has been confirmed from what is still an assumption. Request the utility application reference, if one exists, and ask what review remains. If the company has only looked at a map, have it say so. A mapped line does not settle connection cost, timing or permission.

On your own property, mark the areas you want to keep available: a driveway, building site, crop field or room for the business to expand. Ask whether the company could work within those limits. A drawing that shows only the battery equipment can leave out access, fencing and electrical routes that matter to your decision.

Reference: National Grid: 2026 request for solutions at seven New York substation locations

Check local permission before letting a bid deadline drive your decision

Ask which town or village would review the actual parcel. A utility’s location label does not identify the governing rules for every property nearby. Different local provisions can change whether a proposal is worth investigating at all.

The examples below concern those specific jurisdictions. They do not establish that a parcel lies on a target circuit, and they should not be applied to a neighboring town or village.

Have the company explain its proposed use, the district and the approvals still needed. If it says an existing approval or an exception applies, ask for the decision and the plan it covers. Keep unresolved permission issues visible when considering an option term or construction schedule.

A bid deadline may matter to the developer, but it does not answer what you would be signing. Ask for time to review the actual land rights, payments and release provisions. Your agreement should explain what happens if the local route or utility proposal does not proceed.

Reference: Town of Hartland: battery energy storage provisions, Section 144-20 · Village of Adams: Chapter 226, solar and battery energy storage · Town of Yates: battery definitions and safety provisions in Chapter 183 · Town of Mexico: filed Local Law 1 of 2025, commercial renewable-energy moratorium · Town of Forestport: filed Local Law 1 of 2026 prohibiting battery energy storage systems · City of Utica: August 26, 2026 council minutes and battery moratorium extension

• City of Utica: the August 26, 2026 council minutes record adoption of a battery-storage moratorium extension through October 31, 2026. Check later adopted action and any claimed previously granted approval; the stated end date does not promise permission afterward.
• Town of Forestport: its filed 2026 law prohibits battery energy storage systems. An Alder Creek utility need does not establish local permission.
• Town of Mexico: its filed renewable-energy moratorium includes battery components. Ask how the actual design is classified and confirm the current restriction before relying on an approval timetable.
• Town of Hartland: its battery provisions prohibit systems that are not accessory to a permitted principal use. Ask what the battery would serve.
• Town of Yates in Orleans County: its published code prohibits Tier 2 batteries, defined as storage above 600 kWh. Conditional standards do not establish an available exception.
• Village of Adams: the large-battery provisions identify General Commercial and Industrial districts and site-plan review. This does not establish approval or describe the Town of Adams’s rules.

Ask a different local question for each East Pulaski property

The utility request lists several municipalities around East Pulaski. Those names help identify an area to investigate; they do not settle which local rule governs your installation or whether your parcel reaches the target circuit.

In the Town of Richland, the filed energy law has a battery-specific Section 13. Its larger-system category has special-use and site-plan requirements. Ask the Town to confirm the applicable district and explain provisions that refer back to solar standards. Request the actual approved plan if a company says review is complete.

In the Town of Sandy Creek, the filed solar law places monitoring, emergency-access, responder-support and incident-cleanup duties on the operator when a utility-scale solar farm includes an on-site battery. Ask whether solar is actually part of the proposal. Those conditions do not establish a standalone battery permit route.

For Albion, identify the county explicitly. The East Pulaski request concerns Albion in Oswego County. A battery code from Albion in Orleans County cannot establish the rules for that property. Ask the responsible Town office for the current adopted energy law and any amendments.

The New York State Tug Hill Commission reported an Albion energy-law adoption in August 2021, including battery storage. The Town website’s linked law list is dated July 2019. That older list cannot answer the current permit question. Request the operative text and an explanation of the actual design’s review requirements before relying on a development schedule.

Reference: National Grid: 2026 request for solutions at seven New York substation locations · Town of Richland: complete filed Local Law 2 of 2021, including battery Section 13 · Town of Sandy Creek: filed Local Law 2 of 2024, including solar-farm battery requirements · New York State Tug Hill Commission: August 2021 report of Albion energy-law adoption · Town of Albion, Oswego County: linked local-law list · Town of Albion, Oswego County: responsible offices

Understand the permission requested from you

For this request, the bidder is responsible for obtaining necessary land. A private-property proposal must demonstrate site control or a plan to gain it. The request does not say every bidder must already hold an executed land lease.

Ask what document the company wants from you now and what it would allow. Permission to discuss a property, permission to enter for a survey and an exclusive option to lease are different commitments. Read the document rather than rely on what it is called.

If it requests an option, identify the land being reserved, the initial period, possible extensions and the payments for each period. Does the company have to give notice to extend? Can the equipment area or cable route grow without another agreement? Ask when the property becomes available again if development stops.

For proposed visits or investigations, request notice arrangements and a description of the work. Who carries insurance, repairs damage and restores disturbed ground? Keep those questions separate from whether the company has a promising utility bid. A bid does not explain the terms for entering your land.

Reference: National Grid: 2026 request for solutions at seven New York substation locations

Compare three timelines

Request a simple timeline with separate dates for reserving your land, building the project and providing the proposed utility service. Then add removal and restoration. Those periods may differ, and your agreement should explain what happens between them.

Ask what must happen before operating rent begins. Is the trigger construction, completion, commercial operation or another event? What would you receive while the project waits for a utility decision or connection work? Do not leave an extended gap between signing and payment unexplained.

If a company says it needs a long lease for a shorter utility-service period, ask what it plans afterward. Would the battery pursue another use, remain idle or be removed? Who makes that decision, and what payment and notice provisions apply?

Find out what happens if the bid is unsuccessful or the project is delayed. Would the company release the property, seek a different project or extend its reservation? Your own end dates and extension rights should be clear enough to understand without predicting which utility decision will be made.

Request your land payments separately

Ask for a schedule showing option payments, rent or purchase price, increases and due dates. If there are separate payments for access or electrical rights, include those too. Compare the total rights requested with the full schedule rather than a headline figure.

Have the company identify any conditions attached to your payments. Would you receive fixed rent, or would some amount depend on project operation or revenue? Who bears the cost if equipment fails or a service contract changes? Request an example using the actual proposed terms.

If a presentation includes utility-service revenue or a value assigned to a grid need, ask how that relates to your offer. Do not assume those figures are money payable to you. Your agreement should identify your payer and your payment obligations directly.

Discuss taxes, insurance, site maintenance and removal costs alongside rent. Ask who is responsible for each, how responsibility would carry through a project transfer and what happens if the operator cannot pay. Have your advisers review the proposed agreement before you commit.

Tell Sunland where the property is

Use the form on this page to send your name, email and phone number, then the property location, county and state. Approximate acreage, parcel numbers and other property details are optional. You do not need a utility study or a project design to begin.

Tell us whether you are interested in leasing, selling or asking a question first. If someone has already approached you, mention the utility location or request it cited and what document it wants you to sign. Do not send account passwords or private access codes.

This form starts a Sunland development inquiry. It does not submit a utility bid, reserve land, apply for a permit or authorize an inspection. Any proposal would need a separate review of the actual property, connection, permissions and commercial terms.