A Massachusetts-based company is withdrawing its application to build a battery energy storage system in Littleton.
LITUS Energy Storage’s parent company Enel Green Power North America said it decided not to move forward because of current market conditions for building a battery energy storage system project.
The project faced pushback from neighbors, residents and Littleton’s fire chief, citing concerns around fire safety.
There have been fires at similar storage sites in Vermont and Arizona. First responders were injured in the Arizona fire, and it has delayed battery storage projects in that state.
Battery energy storage systems use rechargeable lithium ion batteries to store electricity from the grid when prices are low. That energy is then sold back to the grid during peak hours.
The proposed system would have covered about 13 acres in a rural zone in Littleton, and potentially have cost $30 million to $50 million.
Only one other battery storage system is in the works in New Hampshire, a pilot project from Eversource in Westmoreland, with a price tag of about $7 million.
Littleton’s Planning and Zoning board will respond to the withdrawal request at its next meeting on February 25.
