WENDELL — A battery energy storage bylaw that voters overwhelmingly approved in May has been rejected by the state Attorney General’s Office for failing to comply with procedural safeguards embedded into state zoning laws.

Wendell residents voted 100 to 1 at a Special Town Meeting to give their blessing to the addition of a general bylaw to deal with the licensing of battery energy storage systems, including those powered by lithium-ion batteries. The article, put forward by petition, was proposed by No Assault & Batteries, a local citizens’ committee formed in opposition to the battery storage facility that Lowell-based New Leaf Energy had proposed for Wendell Depot Road. The company eventually rescinded its proposal over the summer.

Under the general bylaw approved by Wendell voters, any battery energy storage system with a power rating greater than 1 megawatt and no more than 10 megawatts would require approval from the Wendell Licensing Board, to be made up of Selectboard members as well as one member appointed from the Conservation Commission, Board of Health, Planning Board, Zoning Board of Appeals, Energy Committee, Municipal Light Board and Finance Committee. The bylaw also states that no battery energy storage proposal greater than 10 megawatts would be licensed in town.

However, any adopted or amended town bylaw requires approval from the state Attorney General’s Office to take effect. The ruling, issued on Nov. 14, states the warrant article needed to be adopted as a zoning bylaw, rather than a general bylaw, because it was written to regulate land use.

“The attorney general is authorized to disapprove a bylaw that conflicts with state law of the Constitution,” Nicole B. Caprioli, assistant attorney general, wrote in a letter to Town Clerk Anna Wetherby. “The attorney general does not review the policy arguments for or against the enactment of a bylaw.”

The letter further states the attorney general’s standard of review is equivalent to that of a court. The AG’s office mentioned that no town can circumvent state protections afforded to solar energy facilities and related structures.

“Solar energy facilities and related structures have been protected under [Massachusetts General Law] for almost 40 years, since 1985 when the Legislature passed a statute codifying ‘the policy of the commonwealth to encourage the use of solar energy,” the letter reads.

The state Legislature determined that “neighborhood hostility” or contrary local “preferences” should not dictate whether solar energy systems and related structures are constructed in sufficient quantity to meet the public need.

No Assault & Batteries released a statement detailing its members’ disappointment with the decision from the AG’s office. The statement mentions that the letter detailing the Nov. 14 ruling is similar to one the state attorney general wrote in March 2023 rejecting a Wendell bylaw that sought to completely prohibit battery energy storage facilities in all zoning districts.

“The attorney general refused to accept our general bylaw and said it was a zoning bylaw,” said No Assault & Batteries member Court Dorsey. “She seems to be saying, ‘If it quacks like a duck, it is a duck.’ Well, this duck can go into thermal runaway and fill our skies with dangerous, toxic gases from lithium-ion battery fires.”

According to the group’s statement, the AG’s office in 2023 criticized No Assault & Batteries for not having produced any “articulated evidence of public health, safety or welfare concerns” as they relate to battery energy storage systems. This year, however, the AG’s office did not address anything that No Assault & Batteries submitted detailing the various public safety hazards — only about the fact that it did not follow the procedural rules for passing a zoning ordinance.

“We ‘articulated’ to her office more than 60 pages of public safety nightmares around the globe,” said No Assault & Batteries member Chris Queen, who mentioned lithium-ion fires in Arizona and Long Island during the May Town Meeting. “If there is a thermal runaway in Wendell, we can be assured that staff from the AG office’s will not be here to help us as first responders. We, the citizens of Wendell, should have the so-called ‘police powers,’ the Home Rule jurisdiction, to protect our land and people from high-risk technologies. Apparently, the attorney general is more concerned with protocols than people’s safety.”

According to the National Fire Protection Association, which the Leverett Selectboard had cited in a letter to the state Attorney General’s Office advocating in favor of Wendell’s bylaw during the initial review period, lithium-ion batteries can be an effective, efficient source of power but they are prone to overheating, catching fire and even exploding if damaged or improperly used, charged or stored.

No Assault & Batteries plans to host a community forum via Zoom from 6 to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 10, to discuss strategies for local energy activists and the state’s clean energy permitting bill. Send an email to csqueen@outlook.com for more information on this event or to join it.

Reach Domenic Poli at: dpoli@recorder.com or 413-930-4120.