Charlton Planning Board Pushes Battery Storage Developer to Overhaul Community Outreach

CHARLTON — June 3, 2026 — Charlton Planning Board grills battery storage developer over safety, outreach, and state override authority. ESA pre-development principal Wes Shaeffer and communications manager Ernest Calderon spent nearly two hours fielding questions from board members and residents about a proposed 150-megawatt, roughly 58-container Tesla Megapack facility on a 15-acre lease adjacent to the Carpenter Hill Road substation, with project capital costs currently exceeding $50 million. A board member summarized the town's limited leverage under the 2024 state climate act: projects at or above 100 megawatt-hours bypass local zoning entirely and go to the Energy Facilities Siting Board, which has 15 months to approve them, while a local denial of smaller projects triggers a de novo Department of Public Utilities review with no further judicial appeal. Fire Chief Rob Barton told the room that state law requires ESA to work with him on an emergency action plan and that "nothing is going to come back onto the townspeople" for equipment or training costs. The board pressed ESA to overhaul its outreach — only about 13 people visited its annual town meeting table — calling for townwide mailers, school committee appearances, and a booth at Old Home Day, and ESA agreed to return July 15 with a revised written engagement plan. Towns that negotiated pilot agreements with comparable projects, including Medway and Carver, receive between $1.5 million and $2 million annually, versus an estimated $25,000 to $30,000 in standard property taxes if no agreement is reached.