We’re mostly beginning to benefit from battery storage farms, as their clean renewable energy flows through our utility grids. But the same applies to many other utilities too, that tick over somewhere in the background. Local residents are at peace as long as that background is not ‘in their back yard’. Tensions can rise when that happens.
A Battery Storage Farm Site in Wendell, Massachusetts
Wendell Massachusetts in Franklin County, has a population of around 1,000 people spread over 32 square miles. Wendell State Forest comprises 7,500 acres of rolling forested hills, streams, ponds, and trails. This gives the area a distinctly rural feel, that the residents are understandably keen to preserve.
New Leaf Energy would like to accelerate the transition to renewable electricity, and understandably profit in the process. Its website explains how it ‘partners with landowners, policy makers, and other stakeholders to accelerate renewable energy adoption’.
These two admirable values collided head-on at Wendell, Massachusetts when, according to residents, New Leaf Energy announced its intention to:
- Disturb 50 acres of forest and clear-cut 11.1 acres.
- Erect 25-foot walls and constant air conditioning.
- Install 786 lithium-ion storage batteries at this site.
How A Group of Wendell Residents Oppose This Move
Some 111 Wendell residents are unwilling to let the New Leaf Energy project continue in its present form, at 68 Wendell Depot Road in our image. It seems a higher authority approves battery storage farms in Massachusetts, but they are having none of this. The infuriated residents want to pass a local bylaw that puts this decision back in their hands.
Their specific demands include the following, according to Greenfield Recorder website:
- Clear cutting of forest limited to half an acre.
- A five-acre limit for battery storage systems.
- Minimal construction on undeveloped land.
From where we sit, it seems that the Wendell residents are not against battery storage farms in principle. They just don’t want them to destroy their rural peace. We encourage the developer and the residents to keep on talking, and seek a solution that works for all.
More Information
Battery Storage Projects Under Threat in UK
Lithium-Ion Battery Farm Alarms Community
Google Earth Image: 68 Wendell Depot Road
