After months of objections from nearby residents, many of them seniors, Boston 25 News reported that a controversial battery storage project in Tewksbury, Massachusetts, is going forward.
The decision comes amid broader tension in the clean energy transition over how to build critical infrastructure while addressing community concerns about safety, oversight, and location.
What happened?
On June 30, the Energy Facilities Siting Board voted to approve a lithium-ion battery energy storage project planned near Emerald Court, a 55+ community in Tewksbury.
According to the station, neighbors spent months submitting testimony and public comments focused on fire risk, environmental impacts, and the site's proximity to hundreds of seniors, as well as to one resident whose home is only a few feet away.
In a last effort to stop the project, dozens of residents traveled from Tewksbury to Boston to ask state officials not to move forward, Boston 25 News said.
After the vote, Tewksbury resident Sandra Poole described the community's frustration to the network.
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"Profound disappointment because I just feel that there are so many unanswered questions," Poole told Boston 25 News.
Even though the project was approved, Tewksbury town manager John Curran told the station that residents' sustained involvement influenced the final terms. According to Boston 25 News, that participation helped secure more than 100 conditions in the approved proposal.
Why does it matter?
Battery storage is becoming a bigger part of the U.S. energy system because it can store electricity for later use, improve grid reliability, and make it easier to use power from renewable sources such as solar and wind. In many places, that can help reduce reliance on polluting backup power sources.
Lithium-ion battery facilities have faced scrutiny nationwide over fire risks, emergency response planning, and concerns that industrial-scale energy projects are being planned too close to homes, schools, or vulnerable residents.
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In this case, the site is near a senior community, and one particular resident. Clean energy infrastructure can provide major public benefits, but communities often want stronger safeguards, better siting decisions, and more transparency before projects move ahead.
What's being done?
East Point Energy, the developer, released a statement to Boston 25 News applauding the decision.
"Battery energy storage systems like Hillman Energy Center help to support a more reliable and affordable electric grid," they wrote, per the station. "We thank the Energy Facilities Siting Board for running a smooth and transparent process and welcoming helpful public feedback."
The chair of the sitting board, Jeremy McDiarm, touted the revised agreement to Boston 25 News.
"That decision that we issued has conditions to protect the public's health, to make sure that noise, that storm water, fire safety are all taken into account as the project is being designed, built and operated," he said.
According to Boston 25 News, residents said they plan to keep looking at their options nonetheless.
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