GROTON — A Virginia-based energy company has announced six battery energy storage projects it intends to build in Massachusetts which will carry a total of 23 megawatts of energy.
The six new projects by Lightshift Energy will range in storage capacity from 3 to 5 MW, and will serve the power grid through the Groton Electric Light Department, Ashburnham Municipal Light Plant, Princeton Municipal Light Department, Georgetown Municipal Light Department, Ipswich Electric Department and Marblehead Municipal Light Department.
In a statement Monday, Lightshift co-founder and Managing Partner Rory Jones said municipal utilities in Massachusetts “have often paved the way on the frontier of grid modernization, and these projects continue that tradition.”
“What makes this program particularly unique is the portfolio strategy. By developing these projects as a fleet across the state, we’re able to dramatically reduce cost and increase speed to interconnect, maximizing savings, reliability, and market value for participating communities,” said Jones. “For municipal utilities looking to rapidly manage rising energy costs and strengthen their systems, this model provides a powerful blueprint.”
The participating municipal utilities are expected to save more than $90 million in the lifetime of the projects, Lightshift said in its announcement, while the expansion will add to the portfolio of Lightshift energy storage sites in the state. The company currently has sites operational in the Massachusetts communities of Wakefield, Paxton, Holden, Braintree, and two others in Groton which have been operational since 2024 at 3 MW each.
The new storage sites are being built in partnership with the Massachusetts Municipal Wholesale Electric Company, a not-for-profit joint action agency that serves as the largest provider of asset-owned power generation for municipal power companies in New England.
In a call with The Sun Monday, MMWEC Chief Development Officer Jason Viadero said each of the new projects will take the form of three to 10 shipping containers of battery storage modules.
“The intent and purpose is to provide a localized benefit to the municipal light plants where these are located,” said Viadero.
The majority of electricity costs come at times of peak demand, Viadero said, so the batteries function by charging during non-peak hours where power generation can be less carbon intensive, while the batteries can then be used to supplement the grid during peak hours.
The partnership between Lightshift and MMWEC is meant to build 14 projects throughout the state for a total of about 50 MW of energy storage. The latest project announcements come a few months after Gov. Maura Healey signed an executive order in March to set a target of securing an additional 10 gigawatts of new energy resources in the state by 2035.
It also comes as some communities see backlash against proposed battery storage projects. Locally, that backlash has been seen in Tewksbury, where residents near a proposed 125 MW battery site have been vocal in expressing concerns over the dangers of fires or other catastrophic incidents at such a facility.
The proposed Tewksbury facility is much larger on its own than the combined storage of all six new projects announced by Lightshift, but Viadero said there is still “definitely a need for education and engagement” in the communities these kinds of projects are proposed in. He said when battery sites are proposed, there are a number of stakeholder meetings and hearings that take place with local boards and emergency responders to go over those concerns.
“The intent for us is to benefit the host community,” said Viadero. “So for us to go in there and try to throw up a battery site without talking to anybody doesn’t make sense.”
Viadero said he does not aim to discount the fears people may have about battery storage sites, especially when actual disasters make headlines, like the Moss Landing battery fire in California in January 2025. He did note, however, that battery storage regulations have come a long way in recent years, and the smaller capacity sites like the six announced Monday tend to have more local jurisdiction, whereas a larger project like that of Tewksbury is filed with the state.
In the announcement, Lightshift said a seventh new project will be announced soon. Most of the Arlington, Virginia-based company’s operational sites are in Massachusetts, though it has a number of current and future sites in Virginia and Vermont.
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