50 Vergennes residents went to meeting Wednesday to express concern about battery storage project

Vergennes residents express their frustration about a proposed battery storage system’s location on Panton Road at the city’s meeting Wednesday. Officials contend it will strengthen Vermont’s electric grid, but local residents still have questions.About 50 people came to the informational meeting Wednesday evening, hosted by the city of Vergennes. Battery storage company Lightshift Energy tried explaining its proposed battery energy storage system to a very displeased crowd.”We’ve listened to you. We’ve respected you. It’s time for us,” said one resident who showed up to the meeting.Officials said the system has environmental and economic benefits, such as lowering long-term energy costs for ratepayers and reducing fossil fuel use.”Energy storage can manage solar and essentially make it more valuable,” said Laura Coriell, who works for the company. “We’re shifting solar energy from times of kind of low demand, low cost to higher demand, higher costs. And the more we can do that, the more local solar that we can build out throughout the state.”Officials also said Panton Road in Vergennes is the best location for the facility because the lot is already zoned for industrial use. But Vergennes residents are still not sold on it.”My question is why did you pick adjacent to me?” said an attendee. “Versus next to the solar field. Versus next to the high school.”Other residents who spoke up Wednesday said they’re concerned these lithium-ion batteries will catch on fire and the facility will be too loud.”I do live on Panton Road. I don’t know if I’m going to hear it. I certainly hear the equipment on top of Simmonds Precision. It’s extremely annoying. So, sound is important,” said another attendee.Lightshift met with the Vergennes Fire Department a few months ago. Fire Chief David DiBiase said the department has no safety objections to this project.”We don’t see this as affecting the day-to-day life of anybody in the surrounding areas,” DiBiase said. “It is really that low risk that an incident would occur at that facility. And then at that time, there would be a response just like anything else.”DiBiase said he would like to have a third party develop an emergency response plan, as the company has fostered for other systems.Lightshift Energy officials said they plan to take the community’s comments and concerns from Wednesday’s meeting and incorporate them into the next phase of the project.The next step is to submit a certificate of public good to the Public Utilities Commission, which issues or denies it.