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As more energy storage projects are developed in Massachusetts,
laws and policies may need to catch up. Energy storage can provide
many benefits and play many roles, but it does not always fit
neatly into familiar categories, which are sometimes embedded in
the background legal landscape. A recent petition at the
Massachusetts Energy Facilities Siting Board ("EFSB")
brings this issue to the fore.
The EFSB has jurisdiction over transmission lines, gas
pipelines, facilities for the manufacture and storage of gas, oil
facilities, and "generating facilities" that meet certain
thresholds. As a result, the EFSB provides an overarching review of
the need for, cost of, and environmental impacts associated with
most significant energy infrastructure in the Commonwealth. It also
has the ability, in certain circumstances, to override state and
local decisions that would block such projects.
On January 4, 2019, Cranberry Point Energy Storage, LLC petitioned the EFSB for a determination that
the EFSB does not have jurisdiction over—and therefore need
not review or approve—a proposed 150-megawatt, lithium-ion
energy storage system in Carver because the energy storage system
is not a "generating facility." Cranberry Point's key argument is straightforward: an energy
storage project of the type proposed is not a generating facility
because it does not transform another type of energy into electric
energy; it takes electric energy generated elsewhere, stores it,
and then dispatches it.
The EFSB's decision on this petition will affect the review
and approval processes applicable to large energy storage projects
in Massachusetts. A decision that energy storage projects are not
jurisdictional would remove the need for such projects to obtain
EFSB approval, a process that can be rigorous and often overlaps
with other state and local permitting processes. However, such a
decision could also prevent energy storage projects from utilizing
the EFSB's authority to override local
opposition—something that has long been important for
traditional energy infrastructure projects. Further, the EFSB's
decision could influence debates over energy storage in other
contexts where existing paradigms include dividing energy
infrastructure between generation, transmission, and distribution
assets.
The EFSB has docketed the petition as EFSB 19-01, and is likely
to provide public notice and opportunities for comment soon. A
decision is likely within about four months.
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