Planning Board Votes to Close Battery Storage Hearing
Planning Board · Meeting of September 15, 2026
Hadley Planning Board closes hearing on battery storage plant after sound study clears noise hurdle. The board voted 5-0 to close the public hearing on ZP Battery Dev Co.'s five-megawatt energy storage system at 0 Breckenridge Road, with Clerk William Dwyer drafting a written decision for town counsel review ahead of an October 6 or October 20 vote. Tech Environmental's Mark Wallace told the board a factory noise-reduction kit cuts sound output by 20 decibels, bringing predicted levels to 21-30 decibels at property lines, within the state's 34-decibel limit, and eliminating a 500-hertz "pure tone" violation found without mitigation.
Resident Greg Owen pressed on long-term reliability, asking "how well will they stand up over time," while officials said the developer, or any future owner, would be deed-bound to fix violations. The board separately voted 5-0 to waive further site plan review, signage excluded, for the former Friendly's redevelopment at 455 Russell Street, and approved a $575 quarterly stipend for July through September 2026.
In the full story:
- Who Was There
- Organizations And Documents Referenced
- The complete report — 2,895 words
Source: the Planning Board meeting of September 15, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.
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