By Adam Swift
The city council’s zoning subcommittee will take up a proposed zoning amendment to add battery energy storage systems (BESS) as a new use permitted by special permit in the Highway Business and TED districts at its next meeting on Monday, Sept. 8. The council opened the public hearing on the proposed amendment at its regular meeting last week. Some councilors did raise concerns about the potential larger scale battery storage facilities in the city, citing potential fires, thermal runaway, first-responder safety, floodplain siting limits, neighborhood compatibility, and the right-sizing of facilities. “This is a relatively new use to adapt to an ever-changing electrical grid,” said planning and economic development director Tom Skwierawski. “The concept is to hold power during low usage periods where power is more affordable and hold onto it for distribution back during those high peak periods like 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. when folks are coming home from work and they have their air conditioners running and their TVs on. This is a use that is rapidly growing throughout the Commonwealth and will only begin to grow even more as we are grappling with issues of energy affordability and looking at ways to make energy cheaper for all consumers and across the network.” Ultimately, Skwierawski said the battery storage systems will help lower energy costs in the long run as well as support the use of renewable energy. “It can provide both lucrative host-community agreements and PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes) agreements,” he said. “Chelsea, in their recent project that was approved, they have a PILOT which is a 20-year, $1.5-million per year agreement that comes along with a host-community agreement with roughly $550,000 in payments to the city of Chelsea for a variety of purposes.” Skwierawski said the BESS use is not only potentially lucrative, but it is also done with keeping with all fire department and local fire, building, and health and safety codes and public health and safety codes and standards. “This was done in consultation with our solicitor’s office, fire department, and with professionals in the industry,” he said. “The parameters for this would be any energy storage system over 30 megawatts; this doesn’t include smaller energy storage systems. This is a use, it’s worth noting, that has some degree of protection under 40A (the state’s zoning laws) currently; it has been designated as a system that facilitates the collection and distribution of solar energy onto the grid, and as such, does have certain protections under 40A.” Skwierawski said the city is seeking to put some local regulations in place for BESS before July of 2026, when it will become a state permitting process. “We’re looking to jump ahead of that to make sure we have any instances where companies would like to come in front of us for battery energy storage system proposal, this is really our last opportunity to have local control over the process,” he said. Ward 1 Council candidate James Mercurio noted that there are potential pros and cons that come with the battery energy storage facilities, adding that there has been talk about a facility coming to the former Lee’s Trailer Park site. “Yes, we can lower our energy costs and we get grid reliability,” said Mercurio, but added that the city will need to get legal clarity on the permitting process. While there will be financial benefits to the city, Mercurio said the city will also have to consider potential safety risks. “These battery facilities do catch on fire, and there have been some major fires out there,” he said. Mercurio asked what kind of safety analysis would be done, the potential size of any facility, and if the mitigation funds would include paying for a special foam spray fire truck that is needed for battery fires. Councillor-at-Large Anthony Zambuto also raised concerns about the potential for fires and other safety concerns with the storage facilities. Councillor-at-Large Michelle Kelley said she would like to see further safeguards put in place to make sure there is a greater buffer zone between the battery storage facilities and residential units.
