by Lex Thomas
On October 12, clean energy leaders and stakeholders from across Massachusetts and New England joined the Sterling Municipal Light Department to celebrate the groundbreaking for the Community Clean Energy Resiliency Initiative Battery Storage Project, the first utility-scale municipal energy storage system in Massachusetts. The 2-megawatt/3.9 megawatt-hour battery storage system, to be installed at Sterling’s Chocksett Road Substation, will be able to isolate from the main grid during a power outage and, with the support of existing solar generation, provide up to 12 days of backup power to the town’s police station and dispatch center, a critical facility providing first responder services. The project in effect doubles the installed battery storage capacity in Massachusetts.
The project is being led by the Sterling Municipal Light Department, with batteries supplied by NEC Energy Solutions, a locally-based company with headquarters in Westborough, Mass. Funding included a $1.46 million grant from the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources, under the leadership of Commissioner Judith Judson, with additional financial and technical assistance from the Department of Energy, Office of Electricity (DOE-OE) under the direction of Dr. Imre Gyuk, and Sandia National Laboratories under the leadership of Dan Borneo. Additional technical support was provided by the Clean Energy States Alliance (CESA) under the project leadership of Todd Olinsky-Paul, through its Energy Storage Technology Advancement Partnership (ESTAP), and by Clean Energy Group’s Resilient Power Project through a generous grant from Barr Foundation.
In addition to power benefits, the project will enable the town to save on energy costs over the its lifespan due to the grid services the batteries will provide. Speaking at the groundbreaking event, Secretary Matthew Beaton, Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, said the project makes enormous strides toward ensuring Massachusetts has “a clean, affordable, and resilient energy future. This is a game changer for the overall utilization, cleanliness, and resiliency of our grid,” he said.
SMLD General Manager Sean Hamilton said the project represents the way of the future for energy. “Energy storage is the next step for our industry,” he said. “We’ve been doing one thing for a hundred years, and it’s time to do something different.” He also called the project a tremendous benefit for Sterling ratepayers. “This project will not only guarantee clean and resilient energy for Sterling’s future, but it will save on energy costs for our ratepayers,” he said. “And we’re all about doing the right things for our ratepayers.”
Site construction will begin shortly, and the project is expected to be fully operational by the end of 2016.
Photo by Richard Maki: (Left to right) Secretary Matthew Beaton, Dr. Imre Gyuk, Sean Hamilton, and Commissioner Judith Judson.