Blandford Battery Bylaw Committee Sets November 12 Deadline for Draft Overhaul

BLANDFORD -- October 29, 2025, Blandford battery storage committee sets two-week sprint to overhaul thin 2019 bylaws. The town's battery energy storage system zoning review committee met October 29 and agreed unanimously that Section 16 of Blandford's bylaws, a roughly four-to-five-page document drafted around 2019 with Pioneer Valley Planning Commission template language, is inadequate for the large-scale commercial BESS facilities now being proposed near the town's existing electrical substation and high-voltage transmission infrastructure. Members cited a BESS failure incident database showing more than 70 fires nationally and warned that state-level permitting regulations expected around June 2026 could allow developers to bypass local rules entirely if the town's bylaws are not strengthened and approved by the Attorney General first. All members were tasked with submitting proposed bylaw edits by November 7, with a two-hour working session scheduled for November 12 and a near-final draft targeted by approximately November 19. The committee also agreed to request sample bylaw language from the town's law firm and to invite a Department of Energy Resources outreach representative, identified as Alison Gage, to meet with the group once a working draft is in hand.