WENDELL — Residents will convene at Town Hall on Wednesday to have their voices heard on a proposed bylaw brought by citizens to regulate battery energy storage systems.

A Special Town Meeting is slated to begin at 7 p.m., with two articles on the warrant — one pertaining to battery energy and the other having to do with “any other legal business that may come,” before the meeting adjourns.

The main article was crafted by members of No Assault & Batteries, a local citizens’ committee formed in opposition to the 105-megawatt battery storage facility that Lowell-based New Leaf Energy has proposed for 68 Wendell Depot Road. Adoption of the article would add a general bylaw to deal with the licensing of battery energy storage systems, including those powered by lithium-ion batteries. Members of the committee fear the project is unsafe and not suited for a town of Wendell’s size. They hope adoption of the bylaw will stop the proposed project.

“This is something that has been worked on, really, since January. And it’s gone through changes because we want to make sure that it focuses on the key topics of health and safety,” No Assault & Batteries member Anna Gyorgy said, noting that this is not a zoning bylaw. “We have learned not just the danger of storing lithium, but the inappropriate nature of siting battery storage separate from production and on this scale. It’s just way too big.”

Gyorgy has said the proposed project would disturb 50 acres of forest and clear-cut 11.1 acres to install 25-foot walls and constant air conditioning to protect 786 lithium-ion batteries. One of the proposed bylaw’s regulations would require that the clear-cutting of forest be limited to less than a half-acre.

Another requirement would be a 5-acre limit for any battery energy storage system, and construction on undeveloped land must be minimized to the extent possible.

The bylaw would designate the Selectboard as voting members of a Licensing Board, which would convene to review applications submitted for a battery energy storage system license. The Licensing Board’s voting members would act as the granting authority for licenses. The board would have 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 Selectboard would designate one person to oversee and coordinate the Licensing Board’s application review process.

Wendell’s vote comes just days after voters at the Sunderland and Shutesbury Annual Town Meetings approved their own battery storage bylaws.

Wendell’s proposed bylaw was reviewed by Kopelman & Paige, Wendell’s legal counsel, and according to Gyorgy, was returned with numerous corrections on it. Nevertheless, No Assault & Batteries members decided to move forward with the version submitted by a petition of 111 registered voters.

“It’s long, six pages,” she said. “We are going to present it Wednesday night in a way that is digestible and clear.”

No Assault & Batteries member Nina Keller said she contacted the town’s Police Department, Fire Department, Selectboard, Planning Board and Board of Health to ensure their members knew about the proposed bylaw and to get input on it.

“I have a few major concerns,” she said. “One I call a moral imperative.”

Keller said she is worried about the waste that will be produced and possibly sent to other countries. She mentioned the cargo ship that crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, killing at least four people, was carrying corrosive chemicals, lithium-ion batteries and other materials to Sri Lanka. Keller also is fearful of destruction of natural habitat and the potential for massive fires. According to the National Fire Protection Association, lithium-ion battery fires occur for a variety of reasons, such as physical damage, electrical damage, exposure to extreme temperatures and product defects.

Citing all the passion and emotions this issue can generate, Keller said she hopes the Special Town Meeting remains respectful.

“There’s enough war in this world without hating our neighbors who disagree with us,” she said.

The proposed bylaw’s text can be viewed at: tinyurl.com/WendellBylaw.

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