Terra-Gen, Hudson Valley Union Trades Reach MOA on Large Battery Storage Project in Ulster
By JOHN JORDAN
TOWN OF ULSTER, NY—Battery storage developer Terra-Gen and the Hudson Valley Building & Construction Trades Council have entered into a Memorandum of Agreement, ensuring Hudson Valley unions represented by the trades council will build a battery energy storage system (BESS) Terra-Gen has proposed in the Town of Ulster.
“The Hudson Valley Building & Construction Trades Council believes this BESS will benefit the Hudson Valley for years to come by supporting the safest, most advanced technology while providing significant union construction jobs for our highly skilled and specialized workforce,” said President L. Todd Diorio of the Hudson Valley Building & Construction Trades Council. He expects the MOA will later result in a finalized Project Labor Agreement between Terra-Gen and the Hudson Valley building trades on the Ulster County project, he explained at a press briefing on Jan. 23.
Mr. Diorio told CONSTRUCTION NEWS that the battery storage sector is an emerging growth area for the Hudson Valley building trades with a current pipeline of approximately $2 billion in projects in the Hudson Valley.
Terra-Gen has applied to build and operate a 250-megawatt lithium-ion BESS at 430 Hurley Ave. at the former John A. Coleman Catholic High School, comprising 15 acres of privately owned land. The school has been closed since 2019. The completed project would supply electricity to more than 250,000 homes and businesses for four hours, providing reliability and resiliency for the power grid.
“Terra-Gen believes in the safety and quality of this BESS project, due to our nearly two decades of success,” said Terra-Gen Vice President Mark Turner. “We also have deep trust in the Hudson Valley Building & Construction Trades Council’s union workforce, which has safely built the region’s largest projects, including the Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge, LEGOLAND New York Resort and Resorts World Catskills in Monticello.” Mr. Turner added that the development cost for the project would be “several hundred million dollars.”
Terra-Gen’s modern BESS facilities use fully tested, Underwriters Laboratories-certified modular steel enclosures that are designed and tested to be weather-tight and to limit the spread of thermal events, along with multiple layers of protection, including continuous monitoring, controls and built-in safety features. When designed, installed and operated under New York’s updated requirements, these systems effectively manage fire risk and protect the public and first responders, company officials stated.
The project would be built to conform to New York’s stringent fire codes, which mandate extensive fire testing of BESS units before installation and ensure that any fire risk is contained to a single battery cabinet. Terra-Gen’s application to build and operate the BESS is being reviewed by the Town of Ulster. Terra-Gen supports the Town Board requiring a “positive declaration” (meaning a comprehensive environmental review), as requested by the community.
Mr. Turner said this comprehensive environmental review under the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) will establish that the BESS can be built and operated safely, with no health impacts. Construction is expected to begin in 2028, pending final approvals.
Published: February 17, 2026.