EVERETT, Mass. — Massachusetts is racing toward a clean energy future.
In 2024, the governor signed An Act Promoting a Clean Energy Grid, a strategy that makes battery storage essential, and with more proposed sites popping up around the state, the timeline of projects and the way communities get to have their voices heard is changing.
Michael Judge is the undersecretary for the state’s Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs. In March, his office announced new siting and permitting reforms for these types of projects, which he says builds in opportunities for public engagement, strengthens protections for the environment, and reduces the time it takes for project approval.
“We have to build a lot of energy infrastructure in a short time to meet our energy needs so in order to get that done in a timely manner, we can’t be having projects take 5-10 years to get to a yes or no decision on permitting,” Judge said. “This is going to be in the community’s neighborhood, so this is infrastructure that they’re going to see every day so it’s really important that they have a role and a voice in the siting of that infrastructure and making sure that it is as least impactful as possible.”
Green Roots, an environmental advocacy group, helped the state establish the new reforms. The group’s director of climate justice, John Walkey, explained why these reforms will make a difference.
“The permitting process in the past was really an insider kind of project. It was very difficult to get ahold of documents, very difficult to understand what was going on, and very difficult to participate in the process and what it has changed to is one where there is a lot more public outreach,” Walkey said. “One of the more important changes was just making sure that they actually reach out to a community before they do any of their filings. That’s really critical because sometimes there are concerns a community has that can be addressed right off the bat. So, from the perspective of a project proponent, you can really move your project much quicker if you just take that little bit of effort at the beginning to engage with people, you might be able to diffuse everything and move your project forward much quicker than if you just tried to sneak it up on someone.”
Walkey also explained that in the new reforms, there’s an intervener fund.
“In the case where you did want to get involved in a siting process to the degree of being a participant, you need an attorney. So now, you can get funding for that, municipalities can get that funding or communities groups can, and that’s an important component. It’s a bit of a pay to play kind of process and if you don’t have the money, you can’t really be at the table,” Walkey said.
Walkey says making it easier for residents to find information and provide feedback for these new developments is important not just because it’s in their backyard, but also for their safety, which is something that was a big topic of conversation when the battery site was proposed in Everett at the former Exxon oil terminal facility.
“Our main concern is just making sure the community is aware of these facilities that there’s real clarity with municipal authorities around safety and the fire department is prepared for dealing with these things and that the community understands why these things are important and what they are providing for the electrical grid,” Walkey said.
In February, the siting board approved work related to underground transmission lines in connection with the proposed construction of the 700-megawatt battery energy storage system which still needs additional approvals, but construction could start as early as next year.
The company behind the project in Everett, Jupiter Power provided the following statement:
“Jupiter Power is working with The Davis Companies to remediate and redevelop the former ExxonMobil oil terminal, transforming a long-contaminated fossil fuel site into modern energy infrastructure. When completed, the Trimount Energy project will use grid‑scale battery storage to strengthen regional power supply and reliability across New England while avoiding costly transmission upgrades. Jupiter supports the Commonwealth’s updated siting process and appreciates the Governor’s leadership in advancing policies that make continued clean, reliable, and affordable energy development possible for Massachusetts families while ensuring community voices remain an essential part of the process.”
The new siting and permitting process will officially go into effect in July.
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