The Marblehead Municipal Light Department is considering a project that could save ratepayers about $500,000 a year and provide “short-term resiliency for the community,” according to MMLD General Manager Jon Blair.
At a Nov. 24 meeting, Blair said the department is negotiating with LightShift Energy to build a five-megawatt, lithium-ion battery storage system at the Village 13 substation along the Rail Trail.
Addressing concerns that lithium-ion batteries can overheat and cause fires, Blair told the Current, “There is an inherent risk, but one we can manage.” He said he is in discussions with Marblehead Fire Chief Jason Gilliland to minimize the dangers.
Blair emphasized that utilities like MMLD are experiencing significant “load growth” due to increasing electricity use by data centers, heat pumps, and electric vehicles and devices.
“The appetite for energy is not decreasing,” he said. “This battery will help us manage how much we are exposed to rising costs so we can maintain more affordable rates.”
The project has been under discussion for a few years, Blair said, and the technology is not new. LightShift Energy has built similar systems in Wakefield, Groton, Sterling, Holden and other communities.
The battery system would be located inside the existing fence at the Village 13 substation.
Once MMLD approves the project, it would take about 18 months to complete, Blair said.
He encouraged residents with questions or input to attend the Light Board’s next meeting on Dec. 16, at 4 p.m. at MMLD, 80 Commercial St. and online.
Blair also addressed questions about whether he supports Marblehead becoming a state-designated Green Community, which would require MMLD to charge ratepayers a .25 cent energy surcharge every month. Green Community status would allow Marblehead to apply for hundreds of thousands of dollars in grants.
Currently, however, Marblehead is ineligible for those grants, due to its noncompliance with 3A, a law designed to ease the housing crunch across the state.
“It should be off the table until we are eligible for those grants,” Blair said. “It makes no sense to pay into a program that is intended to unlock grants for us, when we are ineligible for those grants. Once we’re compliant, that’s another conversation and one for the (light board) commissioners to have. There are alternatives we could consider.”
