NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 51

A Revamped ESS Standard
A new edition of NFPA 855 is on the
horizon. Here are some of the changes
under consideration for 2023.
electric vehicle fires. " In other words,
continued research into how best to
respond to incidents involving ESS
and other complementary training
resources will be needed.
" There is absolutely a need for more
and updated training, " said Bob Sullivan,
a regional director at NFPA whose
coverage area includes Arizona, where
the 2019 ESS explosion occurred. " It's a
huge need that'll be ongoing for years. "
A few online training options currently
exist, including a program from
NFPA on responding to incidents
involving both ESS
and solar panels,
also known as phonfpa.org/
essprep
Read
about a
2019 ESS explosion
in Arizona.
Watch a video
explaining the
dangers of
stranded energy.
T
HE 2023 EDITION OF NFPA 855, Standard for the Installation of Stationary
Energy Storage Systems, is due out later this year, with debate and voting
on any certified amending motions to take place at the 2022 Technical Meeting
on June 8 in Boston.
Proposed changes for the new edition, which will be the second-ever version
of NFPA 855, include the addition of a scope-an unusual omission from the
first edition of NFPA 855 that resulted from utility companies pushing for full exemption
from the standard-as well as a new chapter on flywheel energy storage
systems and retroactive requirements for non-listed storage systems.
When the first edition of NFPA 855 came out in late 2019, it was perhaps the
only NFPA document ever to not include a scope, the section at the beginning
of the document explaining what and who the document applies to. The reason
for that, explained Christopher Coache, the NFPA staff liaison to NFPA 855,
was because utility companies had fought hard for a scope that says they are
exempt from all of NFPA 855's provisions, arguing their own engineering expertise
ensures they will do things safely. The NFPA 855 technical committee disagreed,
but membership voted in favor of the utility companies' desire. In any
case, an official scope was never published for the standard. That could change
in the 2023 edition.
A proposed scope for the new edition does not include a utility exemption,
Coache said, but there are dozens of instances throughout the standard where
exemptions are given. " The committee has chosen to include carveouts, or exemptions,
to utilities for specific requirements, " Coache said. " But the utility companies
still want a carte blanche exemption written into the scope. There will certainly
be notices of intent to make a motion filed. We'll see what happens. "
Another, less controversial proposed change would require energy storage
system owners to complete a hazard mitigation analysis and potentially implement
enhanced safety measures for any systems that aren't certified to the energy
storage system requirements of UL 9540. " If somebody decides to enforce
the new edition, and you've got battery energy storage systems that aren't listed,
we're not saying you need to rip out and replace the batteries, but you
will need to reevaluate the hazards and provide protection that's necessary, "
Coache said.
The first edition of NFPA 855 included a reserved chapter on flywheel energy
storage systems, which generate and store energy using a spinning rotor. The
full chapter is expected to be included in the new edition. The chapter would
include requirements such as monitoring flywheel bearings for excessive wear
and ensuring wheel spinning has stopped before any maintenance, system decommissioning,
or relocation occurs.
To learn more about NFPA 855 and to view updates on the progress of the
2023 edition, visit nfpa.org/855next. -A.V.
Watch a video
featuring FDNY
and Con Edison
personnel walking
viewers through
the response to
an ESS incident.
Explore resources
from Electrical
Safety Foundation
International on
ESS safety for first
responders.
tovoltaic panels.
" The three-hour,
self-paced module
with engaging
videos, animations,
simulations, and
review exercises
provides basic
knowledge of electrical
theory, types
of photovoltaic
installations, and
battery chemistries, "
reads a
description of the
training, available
at nfpa.org/ess.
There is also a course from the UL Fire
Safety Research Institute (FSRI), and
educational websites like batteryuniversity.com.
But experts say it's hard
to keep any of these resources current.
" The tech is zooming ahead so fast that
the ability of codes and standards and
the ability of training to keep pace is
limited, " Sullivan said.
Further complicating the ability to
provide comprehensive and up-to-date
training are the differences among
energy storage systems. They can have
different types of batteries or different
configurations, said Paul Rogers,
a retired New York City Fire Department
(FDNY) lieutenant who in 2019
cofounded the Energy Storage Response
Group (ESRG). The group advises fire
departments internationally on creating
site-specific emergency response plans
for energy storage systems in their jurisdictions.
" No two systems are the same, "
NFPA .ORG/JOURNAL * NFPA JOURNAL | 51
NFPA
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