ERVING — The Conservation Commission heard an initial development proposal Tuesday night for a 9-acre, 100-megawatt battery energy storage system on Rose Lane.

While plans are in the very early stages, Granite Source Power’s Director of Development Donald Sheehan shared a map of the proposed site, information on wetlands delineation, and a design and grading plan for the battery energy storage system location. The plan would be to draw energy from the Erving substation, located downhill from Poplar Mountain, that would be stored in the batteries for later use.

At this time, Sheehan said that the next step will be to work with Eversource to survey the property. Once a survey is completed, the design of the battery storage site and connections to the substation can be finalized further.

“Once we have an evaluation of their site, we can further mature the civil design and we’ll know the full impacts of that line going from the project site to the substation,” Sheehan said.

Conservation Commission members asked for clarification on certain elements of the project. Chair Mark Blatchley said that to see this project continue, there will need to be “definite considerations” made for wetland buffer zones. Water resources, culvert impacts, access road availability and fire safety were also mentioned by Blatchley as considerations for the project.

Member David Brule added that other boards in addition to the Conservation Commission will have to be involved in this project, including the Planning Board for special permit approval. A Notice of Intent is required for the project, after which a wetlands delineation report can be ordered from the Conservation Commission. The wetlands delineation submitted by the company cannot be submitted for this purpose.

No motions or votes were taken in relation to the project on Tuesday. Sheehan said he’ll take the Conservation Commission’s concerns into consideration when developing future plans and will continue to work with Eversource and the town moving forward.

Battery energy storage system proposals have cropped up regionally, with some receiving significant pushback.

New Leaf Energy recently withdrew its plans for a 105-megawatt battery energy storage system in neighboring Wendell for logistical reasons. Opposition from the No Assault & Batteries citizens group had been ongoing prior to the decision to stop the project.

Before the plan was withdrawn by New Leaf Energy, Wendell approved a bylaw during a May Special Town Meeting allowing battery storage systems with power ratings greater than 1 megawatt but no more than 10 megawatts to come before the Wendell Licensing Board for approval.

In Northfield, the May Annual Town Meeting saw the approval of two articles placing a temporary moratorium on battery energy storage system projects in town. Proponents noted that a moratorium would allow for time for the town to adopt bylaws to regulate battery storage systems.

In addition, Shutesbury’s Annual Town Meeting this year approved the adoption of a bylaw regulating battery storage proposals, and the Greenfield Planning Board approved projects in 2023 at three locations that would use battery storage systems to store energy generated by connected solar fields.

Erin-Leigh Hoffman can be reached at ehoffman@recorder.com or 413-930-4231.