GEORGETOWN – The Conservation Commission and Planning Board are considering allowing a Battery Electrical Storage System (BESS) to be installed at the former G. Mello Trash Disposal Corp. site on Main Street. [Mello moved to a new, modern location less than a mile away.]
The 3-megawatt (MW) battery system proposed for Georgetown and a 5-MW facility under construction in Ipswich are part of six planned for various towns in the state by Virginia-based company, Lightshift Energy. They are designed to stabilize rising electricity prices through peak price sharing.
The Conservation Commission (ConCom) voted unanimously last week to have Lightshift’s lithium iron battery analyzed by an engineer as part of a peer review, possibly done in conjunction with the Planning Board.
Lightshift charges the large battery during low-cost/low-electricity-demand hours and discharges during high-cost/high-electricity-demand hours of the day, thereby enabling electricity savings.
Mary Snow, manager of the Georgetown Light Department that is proposing the battery facility in this town, told the ConCom that over the 20-year life of the project the BESS system at 203 E. Main St. would save $15 million in electrical transmission and capacity costs that National Grid charges the municipal light company.
“This will help us keep our rates steady,” Snow said. “I can’t say we can lower the electricity bills, but what it allows us to do is provide downward pressure on the rates.”
The BESS facility, if approved by the ConCom and Planning Board, would be built by 2028 on 42.5 acres that is currently used by the town highway department. The facility must secure a waiver from the ConCom because it is close to two wetlands and a flood plain on the site.
Lightshift proposes to add about 3,800 square feet of low impact stormwater management design that includes wildflowers.
The BESS will encompass approximately 6,300 square feet and be surrounded by a chain link fence. Inside the fence would be battery containers, transformers and inverter skid, an auxiliary transformer, a metering cabinet, switchgear and communications enclosure.
The BESS project will be interconnected to the grid by the Georgetown Municipal Light Department through an underground conduit and overhead lines to the existing circuit on the parcel. Proposed access is through the existing driveway and parking lot at the site.
Residents across Main Street (State Highway 133) attended the meeting to learn more about the project and voice their concerns.
“I am very concerned,” Lisa Rando said.
Her husband, Stephen, asked if Lightshift has conducted a noise study and created a hazard mitigation plan with the Georgetown Fire Department.
Another resident, Marty Walsh, pointed out that what the neighbors see and hear changes between winter and summer when the leaves change. “I would love to see the differences in the seasons,” she said.
Snow said Lightshift has conducted a noise impact study, and Stephen Yaeger with Lightshift said his company is working with the fire department to develop a hazardous mitigation plan.
The noise from the temperature-monitoring equipment fades after 100 to 200 feet, Yaeger said.
“Fades, but you can still hear it?” Lisa Rando asked.
Yeager said it depends on other background noise.
Lightshift has maintained it has had no documented accidents or safety incidents. The town of Vergennes, VT, temporarily paused a 5-megawatt project over fire safety and potential water contamination issues. After the fire chief concluded that the risk profile was low, the project was approved.
Braintree declined to approve a BESS facility when the fire chief thought the risk was too high.
There have been fires at BESS facilities in Arizona and California. Fires at battery facilities can emit toxic fumes, including hydrogen fluoride, carbon monoxide and hydrogen cyanide, but the redesign of the facilities to lithium iron Phosphorus batteries has reduced the risks.
Cells can overheat and cause a cascading chain reaction, which can exceed 1,000 degrees. Burning batteries can also explode.
The American Clean Power Association has said that cell failure rates are statistically low and that proper engineering keeps risks contained on-site.
↘THE PLANNING BOARD will hold a PUBLIC HEARING for the Battery Energy Storage System via Zoom on Wed. Oct. 28 at 7:20 P.M. See the town’s website calendar for a link.
