Virginia firm proposes to build energy storage facility in Old Mystic
Stonington — A Virginia firm has proposed to build an energy storage facility off rural Prentice Williams Road in Old Mystic.
Scott Connuck, the senior project developer for East Point Energy of Charlottesville, Va., outlined the project to the Economic Development Commission on Tuesday night.
Connuck estimated that the project, which takes electricity from the adjacent Eversource power lines and stores it in batteries for later sale and use, would be worth tens of millions of dollars. He said East Point Energy would be seeking a tax abatement from the town for the project.
After listening to the plan, EDC members agreed to support the project and work with East Point to craft a development agreement so the town is competitive with other communities that might be trying to lure the project to their town. Residents would have to approve any tax abatement at a town meeting.
The so-called Grid Scale Energy Storage system uses lithium ion batteries and is designed to produce resiliency in the energy grid when power is needed. Connuck said his 4-year-old firm has completed one such project in Virginia and plans to begin construction on another later this year. He said there are no emissions from the batteries, which last about 10 years before needing replacement. They can also be recycled.
He said they would be placed in non-flammable enclosures, monitored 24 hours a day and coud be shut down remotely.
Renderings of the project show 34 battery enclosures the size of cargo shipping containers and a substation placed on a concrete slab and surrounded by a security fence and trees for screening.
The town would not have any jurisdiction over approval of the project. Instead, the state Siting Council would decide whether it could be built. The 27-acre site at 94 Prentice Williams Road is zoned greenbelt residential, which means 130,000 square feet of land is needed to build a home. Some types of commercial development are allowed by special permit, which requires a public hearing.
EDC member Kevin Bowdler said Tuesday night that the project could operate in town for 50-75 years, generating tax revenue over that time. Without the tax abatement to help East Point defray some of its initial costs, he added, East Point could locate the project in another town.
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