The Massachusetts Attorney General’s office has rejected a Shutesbury general bylaw on large-scale battery energy storage systems, citing overreach in regulating renewable energy and zoning matters.
However, a revised zoning bylaw in the nearby town of Hadley allowing standalone energy storage systems received near-complete approval, as The Daily Hampshire Gazettereported.
An Energy Storage System is a technology that stores electricity, often from carbon-free energy sources like wind and solar, allowing access to the energy at a later date and time. Such a system helps improve reliability of the grid when relying on so-called green energy, given that sunshine and wind are not always available.
Shutesbury’s Licensing Bylaw Rejected
Massachusetts assistant attorney general Nicole B. Caprioli informed Shutesbury town clerk Grace Bannasch in a November 25 letter that the town’s bylaw improperly regulated energy storage systems. Under Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 40A, Section 3, energy systems and solar uses are protected, limiting the extent to which municipalities can regulate them.
“The town’s general licensing bylaw attempts to impose extensive regulations on the construction and operation of ESS, including a complete prohibition under the general bylaws of any ESS over 10 megawatts,” Caprioli wrote, according to The Greenfield Recorder.
Caprioli added that even if such restrictions were enacted through zoning bylaws, they could still be deemed unreasonable under state law.
Approved at Shutesbury’s annual Town Meeting in April, the bylaw prohibited energy storage systems of more than 10 megawatts, allowed systems under 1 megawatt by right, and required a new licensing board to approve systems between 1 and 10 megawatts. Town planning board member Michael DeChiara noted that the attorney general’s rejection mirrored a similar decision on the town of Wendell’s energy storage systems bylaw earlier this year, according toThe Daily Hampshire Gazette.
Caprioli’s letter emphasized that Shutesbury’s bylaw improperly sought to regulate zoning matters under the guise of a general bylaw. She said it imposed prohibitions and requirements, such as restricting energy storage systems within 200 feet of drinking water wells, that conflicted with existing zoning protections.
Hadley’s Zoning Bylaw Mostly Approved
Meanwhile, Hadley’s updated zoning bylaw, adopted in May, allows standalone energy storage systems in agricultural-residential and industrial zones, while banning them in the aquifer protection district to protect water resources. Assistant attorney general Caprioli approved most of the bylaw but rejected a provision banning earth removal during energy storage system installation.
“Because this requirement would appear to result in a prohibition of all large-capacity ESS if even a shovelful of earth removal is required, this requirement on its face amounts to an unreasonable regulation of ESS,” she wrote, according to The Greenfield Recorder.
The attorney general’s office warned that Hadley’s regulations could become problematic if they overly restrict energy storage systems or make large-scale projects impractical. Lawyers representing Zero-Point Development, a Worcester-based company with plans for a battery storage project on Breckenridge Road, had argued that Hadley’s bylaw left only 350 acres realistically available for development, despite encompassing 13,365 of the town’s 14,850 acres, according to The Daily Hampshire Gazette‘s report.
Next Steps for Shutesbury and Hadley
Shutesbury and Hadley are towns in western Massachusetts, about 14 miles apart. They are not far from Amherst.
Shutesbury’s board of selectmen must now determine how to respond to the attorney general’s decision, as general bylaws fall under its jurisdiction. Meanwhile, Hadley’s approved provisions provide clarity for future energy storage system projects there.
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