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State environmental officials OK massive battery-storage system in Everett

By adamg on Mon, 10/28/2024 - 3:55pm

Banker & Tradesman reports state environmental officials have given the OK for a $500-million, 700-MW battery-storage facility for energy from offshore wind farms on what is now a series of abandoned oil tanks along the Everett waterfront - the first part of a redevelopment plan by the Davis Cos. that would also include new housing and office space.

The proposed Everett Docklands storage plant, which still requires changes in state energy laws, would be the largest in the Boston area. Another company is seeking to build smaller lithium-ion storage plants in Chelsea and Brighton.

Davis is planning to use roughly 20 of the 86 acres in the former tank farm for construction of the new battery building.

Before construction, Davis will first have to cover those 20 acres with roughly 700,000 cubic yards of fill, in part to raise the level of the site above possible future flooding from rising seas and more intense storms.

The batteries that would then be installed on the site would be able to output up to 700 MW of electricity.

[T]he facility will store excess high-voltage electricity produced when spikes occur at renewable energy generating facilities and at times when demand is lower than the available electricity. Energy stored at the facility will then be released to the grid at times of high demand via an underground transmission cable connected to Eversource Substation. ...

The facility will include two sections, one located north of Beacham Street and the other south of Beacham Street. It will include two open-air substations, both of which will cover an area of approximately 90,000 sf (2.1 acres); a 5,000-sf warehouse building for storage of equipment; an 800-sf office building for personnel operating the facility; battery cells grouped together in containers; power control system units; and inverters. Each section will be surrounded by a 2-ft thick wall ranging in height from 10 feet to 40 feet. The BESS will be linked to the Eversource Substation 250 on Alford Street in Boston via two electrical circuits in a 2,900-ft long underground conduit. The conduit will be constructed under existing streets along a route following Beacham Street, Dexter Street, Robin Street, and Alford Street.

Complete approval letter (6.6M PDF).

Neighborhoods: 
Everett
Free tagging: 
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Comments

By anon on Mon, 10/28/2024 - 5:11pm.

This will be the second-largest battery facility on the East Coast, behind Manhattan's Battery Park City.

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By adamg on Mon, 10/28/2024 - 8:02pm.

That's a winna.

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By CopleyScott17 on Tue, 10/29/2024 - 6:31am.

Got my volt.

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By blues_lead on Tue, 10/29/2024 - 9:45am.

faced higher resistance.

By BostonDog on Mon, 10/28/2024 - 5:20pm.

It should have approved in Chelsea so that protesters could be angry about how a Salt and Battery Charges make a Marginal area.

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By anon on Mon, 10/28/2024 - 9:25pm.

I’m curious what the actual storage capacity of this facility will be. I read the linked documents and everywhere talks about “750MW” capacity but that’s output. Energy storage is measured in Watt-hours, not Watts. I didn’t see any of those details listed; does anyone know if I was overlooking anything?

By adamg on Mon, 10/28/2024 - 11:27pm.

Thanks for correcting me on the difference between megawatts and watt-hours. I've changed the story to read it can output, not store, 700 MW (yeah, 700, I also had to correct that since my reading comprehension is pretty low wattage, obviously). Alas, the filing doesn't specify the storage capacity.

By Jethro on Tue, 10/29/2024 - 2:06am.

Other articles I read said it could power 500,000 homes for a few hours. Some napkin math says that's something like 1.5 million kW-h

By Username Unknown on Mon, 10/28/2024 - 10:00pm.

Nothing says desirable housing location like a former oil field and nearby massive battery storage facility.

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By cybah on Tue, 10/29/2024 - 8:16am.

Broadway in Everett is being rebuilt (again) to add bus lanes for frequent bus service. Eventually a spoke of the Silver Line may run this way. So its near lots of transit.

Area-wise, you can be in downtown Boston in less than 10 minutes (depending on traffic)

A supermarket (Market Basket) is about 5 min away (or a 10 minute walk). More shopping is along 16, so not too far away.

I think they also plan on building a 'village' there to give it more of a neighborhood appeal.

We also just need more housing. Anywhere we can put it. This spot is convenient enough.

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By ScottB on Tue, 10/29/2024 - 2:51pm.

Because the transmission infrastructure is already in-place. The Mystic (Generating) Station closed earlier this year and it was under half a mile from the proposed location for this project. That station was mostly useful for its peaking capabilities in its later years so a bunch of batteries are almost a drop-in replacement.

Wynn bought the power plant site and no doubt they have plans for it. The entire area is industrial/commercial apart from a bit of residential near Broadway & Bow Streets so that's where you're going to want to put big-ass batteries.