Duxbury Energy Storage, LLC v. Town of Duxbury Zoning Board of Appeals

The Massachusetts Land Court ruled that the Town of Duxbury Zoning Board of Appeals erred when it upheld the denial of a permit for a standalone battery energy storage facility on the grounds that the facility was not protected by the Massachusetts law (the Solar Energy Provision) limiting local governments’ ability to prohibit or restrict development of solar energy systems and related structures. The Solar Energy Provision bars local governments from prohibiting or unreasonably regulating “the installation of solar energy systems or the building of structures that facilitate the collection of solar energy, except where necessary to protect the public health, safety or welfare.” The court concluded that the battery energy storage project involved “the building of structures that facilitate the collection of solar energy” and was therefore protected by the Solar Energy Provision. The court concluded that energy storage projects not only comport with the Solar Energy Provision’s plain language but are also consistent with legislative intent and effectuate the provision’s goals, which the Supreme Judicial Court had recognized “are naturally and directly tied to the Commonwealth’s current decarbonization and net-zero targets.” The Land Court wrote that energy storage projects “maximize and promote the utilization and generation of solar energy.” Because the Zoning Board of Appeals decision on the project was based on a legally untenable ground, the court annulled the decision.