Planning board backs zoning rules for battery storage after safety, noise and revenue questions

The Revere Planning Board voted unanimously Tuesday to favorably recommend to the City Council a proposed zoning amendment that would establish rules for battery energy storage systems, commonly called BESS.

The board’s action follows a public hearing in which city staff and residents asked questions about fire suppression, training for local firefighters, noise, setbacks from residences and what would happen if a project were abandoned. Frank, a staff member who answered many technical questions during the hearing, said the systems would be either housed inside buildings or self-contained containers and that National Fire Protection Association standards and local permit conditions would require fire suppression and training for the city’s fire personnel. “Yeah. Absolutely,” Frank said when asked whether suppression systems and NFPA requirements would apply.

The board’s…