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Date: 4/11/2023
WARE — The Planning Board meeting on April 6 addressed a proposed addition to the zoning bylaws regulating battery energy storage systems.
In May 2022, the town adopted a moratorium on thes systems, approved through June 30, 2023. Recently, the town’s attorney informed the town that the Attorney General would not approve the moratorium, and the town would have to create a new bylaw regarding battery storage.
The bylaw is intended for free standing battery storage units not associated with solar energy systems.
This does not include a standalone 12-volt car battery or an electric motor vehicle.
The purpose of the bylaw is to provide for the construction and operation of battery energy storage systems, and provide standards for the placement, design, construction, monitoring, modification and removal of energy storage systems. These regulations will address issues such as public safety, impact on scenic, natural, and historic resources in town, and provide adequate financial assurance for decommissioning of batteries.
The bylaw states that in either a residential or commercial site, systems that are integrated into the building need to have a permit obtained from the building inspector to be installed, built, or modified.
Additionally, battery energy facilities are encouraged to co-locate with other battery energy storage systems, such as power generation stations. Systems not associated with on-site solar generation will only be permitted in commercial industrial and industrial zoned districts, and require a site plan review and special permit from the Planning Board.
To build a new system, in addition to a special permit and site plan approval, a site plan prepared, stamped and signed by a professional engineer licensed in the state is required.
These systems must also have an emergency operations plan that details how procedures will be managed in the event of an emergency, A copy of this is to be given to the Fire Department and accessible to anyone involved with the system, such as emergency responders. Additionally, the system must have liability insurance.
There are several design and site standards outlined, which include regulations on system proximity to combustible growth such as trees and bushes, and the output of system noise.
Part of the bylaw calls for a decommissioning plan, which is a plan for removal of the system and requires information such as how the batteries will be disposed of.
The board called into question several parts of the proposed bylaw’s wording and made a motion to continue the public hearing to the next meeting on April 20.
The entire bylaw can be found at townofware.com, and the public may participate in the next public hearing on this scheduled for April 20 to learn more before the Town Meeting vote.