Charlton Planning Board Approves Three Battery Storage Equipment Swaps, Reorganizes Leadership

CHARLTON — September 3, 2025 — Charlton Planning Board elects new chair and approves three battery storage equipment changes. The board unanimously elected Bill Fontaine as chair and a member identified as Patsy as vice chair at its September 3 reorganization meeting, then approved field modifications at three ZP Battery Development sites allowing the substitution of Power Titan 2 containers for the discontinued Power Titan 1 model, cutting the number of containers per site from eight to five while holding capacity steady at five megawatts each. Applicant Tom Corbett of Zero Point Development told the board the new units are "fifteen decibels lower" in noise output and that the equipment change is driven by SunGrow's discontinuation of the original model. The board continued a 36-unit multifamily housing proposal at 35 North Main Street to September 17 after members said parking, road width, and enforcement problems all trace back to a site that is "too dense," and denied without prejudice a long-stalled doggy daycare permit modification that was nearing its 90-day expiration. An attorney for NextEra Energy, appearing late in the meeting after an extended wait, called the board's handling of a solar decommissioning bond dispute "an impediment to development in the town," saying the bond has grown from $220,000 in 2020 to $641,000 with the matter unresolved across four meetings.