Board OKs battery storage after losing legal options
The Hadley Planning Board approved a special permit for a five-megawatt battery storage system over the town's aquifer, voting 4-0 after being told it lacked legal grounds to deny the project again.
Planning Board · Meeting of October 20, 2026
HADLEY — The Hadley Planning Board approved a special permit for a five-megawatt battery storage system over the town's aquifer, voting 4-0 after being told it lacked legal grounds to deny the project again. Chair James Maksimoski, Clerk William Dwyer, and members Joseph Zgrodnik and Mark Dunn voted yes; Kishore Parmar was absent. Dunn said he would vote yes "under duress," while Dwyer explained the 20-day appeal window won't start until he files the written decision with the town clerk, "which as a practical matter, probably won't happen until the first of next week." The permit requires an $86,250 removal bond, accounting for prevailing wage costs, on a 4.99-acre parcel.
Residents including Brian Carroll of Brecker Ridge Road pressed the board to lobby state legislators, saying "we have no way to say no." The board also approved two Russell Street sign replacements and paid $2,569.41 in Pioneer Valley Planning Commission invoices.
In the full story:
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Source: the Planning Board meeting of October 20, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.
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