As more energy storage projects are developed in Massachusetts,
laws and policies may need to catch up. Energy storage can provide
many benefits and play many roles, but it does not always fit
neatly into familiar categories, which are sometimes embedded in
the background legal landscape. A recent petition at the
Massachusetts Energy Facilities Siting Board ("EFSB")
brings this issue to the fore.
The EFSB has jurisdiction over transmission lines, gas
pipelines, facilities for the manufacture and storage of gas, oil
facilities, and "generating facilities" that meet certain
thresholds. As a result, the EFSB provides an overarching review of
the need for, cost of, and environmental impacts associated with
most significant energy infrastructure in the Commonwealth. It also
has the ability, in certain circumstances, to override state and
local decisions that would block such projects.
