Lightshift Energy, in partnership with Massachusetts public power utility Wakefield Municipal Gas and Light Department and the Massachusetts Municipal Wholesale Electric Company, on July 31announced the commercial operation of a five-megawatt battery energy storage system that will power two Wakefield high schools and operate as a resilient, grid-connected microgrid.
Developed as part of WMGLD’s Energy Park Project, the battery system is designed primarily to reduce peak demand on the grid, which is expected to save local customers $20 million over the life of the project.
It will also provide backup power to Wakefield Memorial High School and Northeast Metropolitan Regional Vocational High School during outages.
WMGLD has received grant funding from APPA through APPA's Demonstration of Energy & Efficiency Developments program for the energy park project.
"As New England’s grid faces growing stress from demand and extreme weather, the project ensures the schools can remain powered and serve as community shelters during emergencies," a news release noted.
The battery displaces the need for diesel backup generators and uses peak shaving revenue to support full electrification of both buildings, enabling clean and reliable heating and cooling year-round.
“Energy storage was our first choice when identifying a more cost-effective and renewable solution to power the schools, compared to diesel backup generators that would have cost $1.2 million per generator,” said Peter Dion, WMGLD’s General Manager. “We are incredibly grateful to have the entire town’s support to deploy the Lightshift battery that will provide cleaner, cheaper, and more reliable electricity to our schools.”
This is the third project in a broader Lightshift-MMWEC partnership to bring energy storage systems to many of the joint action agency’s member utilities. The MMWEC program is estimated to provide more than $200 million in energy savings for residents across Massachusetts.
“This project highlights the many positive dimensions of energy storage as an anchor for communities. We are bringing clean backup power to schools and supporting electrification of those schools, while also providing WMGLD customers with significant savings,” said Rory Jones, CoFounder and Managing Partner of Lightshift Energy. “We are excited to partner with WMGLD on this innovative project at a time when grid resilience, sustainability and electricity rates are top of mind.”
“We’re thrilled to be part of this partnership with Lightshift Energy, WMGLD and several other municipal light plants,” said Jason Viadero, MMWEC’s Director of Engineering and Generation Assets. “Wakefield has been one of the energy storage trailblazers amongst the municipal utilities, having installed their first battery in 2019. Their innovative energy park is further demonstration of the out-of-the-box thinking we will need as part of our clean energy future.”
To mark the project launch, Lightshift is also announcing a $10,000 donation to the Boys & Girls Club of MetroNorth to support the establishment of its planned Energy Education Center which will inspire and educate the next generation of young leaders.
The contribution is part of Lightshift’s Beyond the Grid initiative, which supports key organizations in the communities where the company develops and operates energy projects.
