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Company hopes Boston gets a charge out of its plans for a large battery system on Electric Avenue

A Colorado company that builds industrial-sized battery systems for use in electrical grids says it will soon file plans to build a two-story "battery energy storage system" at 35 Electric Ave. in Brighton.

Large battery banks have emerged as a solution for a problem posed by electrical systems supplied with power generated by renewable resources such as wind and especially solar: How to store energy generated during times of peak production - daytime for solar, for example - for use at other times, such as after the sun goes down.

Flatiron says it's amped that its new plant will help Boston achieve its plans for reducing carbon emissions and increasing its resiliency for coming climate-change issues by creating a local "green" energy-storage system. It's right next door to an Eversource substation.

The company did not provide further details on its technology; that will come in the "project notification form" for the proposed 55,170-square foot battery building, which will replace what is now a garage and yard for a construction contractor on the roughly 2.8-acre site.

Flatiron, which is also planning a battery system in Chelsea, says its facility will require far less parking - and generate less traffic - than what's there now.

35 Electric Ave. filings.

Tell us this song isn't now stuck in your head:

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Comments

Thanks adam for the ear worm.

♪ We gotta rock on to.. Electric Avenue ♪

Or maybe this one would be better.

♪ You can't see it
It's electric! (boogie oogie oogie oogie)
You gotta feel it
It's electric! (boogie oogie oogie oogie)
Ooooh, it's shocking
It's electric! (boogie oogie oogie oogie) ♪

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18

I like the Clash version.

The Clash did quite a few covers

02134!

Back when I lived up hill from there I used to go on a run down the hill to Electric Avenue to just to make that joke.

So they are taking over the construction company yard? Seems like a good place to build this.

Between the tow yard, the Ever source Substation and the Pike this likely the least desirable place to put anything else.

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12

Cool. Ever watch 55,000 sq ft of lithium batteries burn?

I wonder what sort of emergency planning and neighbor outreach there is to build one of these abutting homes.

The filing doesn't specify the technology. Lithium Ion is good for fast reaction and light weight. But for a stationary application, like a building, other technology (like molten salt) might be the preferred tech.

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16

The article about the Chelsea project says:

Flatiron has also been working closely with the fire department about the project to get its feedback

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15

I live across from Electric Ave on Parsons. It was so much fun while Eversource went over schedule because they built their substation on an old pond that was filled turn of the 20th Century. Every time it rained, up from the ground came porcelain doll parts, glass bottles, clay pipes etc. Every time there's a heavy rain, the construction company's site has to be pumped out. The spring that came down the hill above is still there hiding under the street. It eventually flows out to the Charles across from the hotel next to the iHop.

We already talked to Flatiron about their plans and this potential problem. At this stage Flatiron is being a little more proactive than Eversource ever was. The stupid thing about this project is Eversource has a shed roof over its equipment that faces toward the Turnpike, or north. I understand why they built it that way to direct rainwater away from the interior of the site, but if they turned it around, they'd have square yards of ideal solar panel surface.

I look forward to the public meetings, the years long construction and the increased traffic on Parsons St, which, if I'm hearing correctly, is supposed to get a working over at the North Beacon, Soldiers Field Road intersection. Fun.

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12

We really need more of these energy storage projects.

So I walk down to Electric Avenue on the electric sidewalk and the sidewalk suddenly sinks. 10 yards away is a landshark. I'd rather be electrocuted on the electric sidewalk than eaten by a landshark.

This is a paraphrase from one of our choices in the upcoming 2024 Presidential election. I know who I'm voting for. /s