Planning board approves minor equipment changes for three Charlton battery storage lots; debate focuses on fire water capture and decommissioning sureties

The Town of Charlton Planning Board voted to accept field modifications to three battery energy storage projects — Lot F and Lot G on Larry’s Way and a site‑plan modification at 288 Sturbridge Road — after developers described an equipment substitution that reduces the container footprint but keeps overall capacity unchanged.

Tom Corbett of ZeroPoint Development (also identified as Superior Devco in the record) told the board the originally proposed Power Titan 1 model is no longer procurable; the manufacturer recommended the Power Titan 2 model and a medium‑voltage substation (MVS) skid that consolidates inverter/transformer functions. Corbett said the new packaging reduces the number of battery containers on each site (from eight to five in the examples presented) while keeping the same rated system capacity for the project’s application to the grid.

Corbett said the new battery containers are about 20 feet long by a bit over 8 feet wide (versus the older layout of about 26 feet by 5½ feet), and the MVS houses power conversion equipment on a single skid. He said wiring within the fenced areas will be underground, containers are not human‑habitable, and the neutral‑ground reactor and meter/recloser remain on pads. Corbett said…