Barre Board Drops Battery Storage Subdivision Plan
Barre Planning Board accepted withdrawal of a subdivision plan tied to a proposed battery storage project after a state law change took permitting out of local hands.
Planning Board · Meeting of April 15, 2026
Barre Planning Board accepted withdrawal of a subdivision plan tied to a proposed battery storage project after a state law change took permitting out of local hands. Attorney Tom Reed told the board the applicant no longer needed to freeze local zoning because large battery storage projects now require approval from the state's Energy Facilities Siting Board instead. One member called the applicant's local filing "a charade" once the withdrawal letter arrived, and another said projects "over a certain scale" may not come before the town at all.
The board voted unanimously to send the state a letter objecting to the loss of local control, with a member named Doug volunteering to draft it. Separately, members noted a Chapter 61A right-of-first-refusal plan remains stalled at the Select Board, which has not decided what would trigger its use.
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Source: the Planning Board meeting of April 15, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.
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