Duxbury Zoning Board Vote Falls Short, Energy Storage Permit Denial Stands

DUXBURY — October 3, 2023 — Duxbury Zoning Board of Appeals lets stand a building inspector's denial of an energy storage facility permit. The board voted 3-2 at its October 3 meeting to overturn the denial sought by New Leaf Energy for a proposed battery storage facility off West Street, but the motion fell short of the four-vote supermajority required to reverse a prior decision. New Leaf Energy had argued the West Street site — near the substation at Route 3 and Congress Street — was the only location in the area without wetlands impacts, and that the project would boost grid reliability, generate tax revenue, and advance the state's Clean Peak Energy Standard established in July 2020. Town Counsel argued that the state law limiting municipal permit denials applied only to installations tied to solar arrays, not standalone storage facilities, a distinction that proved decisive when the three-vote majority could not carry the day.