October Public Comment Hearing
The Siting Board will conduct a hybrid public comment hearing, with in-person and remote participation options:
Thursday, October 16, 2025, 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Oakham Center School
1 Deacon Allen Drive Oakham, MA 01068
Remote attendees: join by clicking the available link – from a computer, tablet, or smart device.
For audio-only participation attendees can dial in at (646) 558-8656 (not a toll-free number) and then enter the Webinar ID: 83752859289
To provide oral comments during the public comment hearing (in person, on Zoom, or by telephone), notify Yonathan Mengesha at yonathan.mengesha@mass.gov or (617) 305-3544.
Please provide your name, email address, mailing address, and docket number (“EFSB 25-07”) by noon the day of the hearing (October 16, 2025). Pre-registered commenters will speak first and others will speak afterwards.
The Siting Board also invites written comments on the Project. Written comments will be most useful to the Siting Board if submitted by Thursday, October 30, 2025. Persons or groups who wish to be involved in the Siting Board proceeding (beyond providing comments at the public comment hearing or in writing) may seek to intervene as a party or to participate as a limited participant. A petition to intervene or participate also must be filed no later than Thursday, October 30, 2025.
Important Dates
Public Comment Hearing: Thursday, October 16, 2025
Written Public Comment Deadline: Thursday, October 30, 2025
Deadline to file for intervention or limited participant status: Thursday, October 30, 2025
Public Review of Company's Petition
A description of the Project, links to the Company’s petitions, attachments and analysis, and periodic updates are electronically available on the Siting Board’s webpage for the Project at the available link (same as the URL link and the QR code at the top of this Notice’s first page). In addition, electronic copies of the petitions and attachments have been provided to the Town of Oakham.
The Company also maintains a webpage for the Project at the available link.
Hard copies of the Company’s petitions and attachments are available for public inspection at the following locations:
Boston
Energy Facilities Siting Board, One South Station, 3rd floor, Boston, MA 02110
Oakham
Town Clerk, Town of Oakham, 2 Coldbrook Rd., Unit 1, Oakham, MA 01068
Fobes Memorial Library, 4 Maple St, Oakham, MA 01068
In addition, the Company’s petitions, including all attachments, are electronically available via the Siting Board’s website.
Intervention and Participation
Persons or groups who wish to participate in the Siting Board proceeding, beyond providing comments at the public comment hearings or submitting written comments, may seek to intervene as a party or to participate as a limited participant.
“Intervenor” or “Party” Status: An intervenor can participate fully in the evidentiary phase of the proceeding, including participating in discovery (information gathering), participating in evidentiary hearings, filing a brief, presenting comments to the Siting Board on the Tentative Decision, and appealing the Final Decision.
“Limited Participant” Status: A limited participant receives documents during the proceeding and may file a brief and present comments regarding the Tentative Decision to the Siting Board.
Instructions for Filing Written Comments and Requesting to Participate in the Proceeding
Written comments on the Project, or a petition to intervene or participate as a limited participant in this proceeding, must be sent to the following three email addresses: dpu.efiling@mass.gov ; Daniel.W.Keleher@mass.gov ; akaplan@pierceatwood.com .
The filing deadline is Thursday, October 30, 2025.
The text of the e-mail must specify: (1) the docket number of the proceeding (EFSB 25-07); (2) the name of the person or entity submitting the filing; (3) a brief description of the document. The email should also include the name, title, and telephone number of a person to contact in the event of questions about the filing.
A petition for intervention must state and explain the way or ways in which the petitioner may be substantially and specifically affected by the Project; a limited participation petition must describe the reason for the petitioner’s interest and the purpose of the participation request. For more information on the Siting Board’s procedural rules, please see the available link.
Accomodation Requests & Language Service Requests
Reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities (e.g., Braille, large print, electronic files, audio format) are available upon request. To request an accommodation, please contact:
Melixza Esenyie
Non-Discrimination Coordinator and Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs Human Resources
100 Cambridge Street, 9th Floor, Boston, MA 02114
617-626-1282
In your communication, state the accommodations you need and why you need them. Provide contact information in case the Coordinator needs more information. Provide one week’s advance notice. The Coordinator will consider but may not be able to fulfill late requests.
Language interpretation services are also available upon request to Yonathan Mengesha at (617) 305-3544 or yonathan.mengesha@mass.gov.
Include in your request the language required and your contact information. To assist us in accommodating your request, please submit it as soon as possible and at least seven days before the date of the public comment hearing.
Non-Discrimination Notice
The Siting Board does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, disability, age, sex, income, ethnicity, class, disability, religious creed or belief, gender identity, sexual orientation, genetic information, English language proficiency or ancestry in administration of its programs or activities. See the Siting Board’s Non-Discrimination Notice.
If you have any questions about this notice or any of the Siting Board’s non-discrimination programs, policies, or procedures or believe the Siting Board has discriminated against you, you may contact Melixza Esenyie (see above for contact information) for more information.
Project Information
On April 1, 2025, Moraga Storage LLC (“Company”) filed with the Energy Facilities Siting Board (“Siting Board”), a Petition, pursuant to the provisions of G.L. c. 40A, § 3 seeking individual and comprehensive zoning exemptions from the operation of the Town of Oakham Zoning Bylaws (“Zoning Bylaw”) to construct a 180 megawatt (“MW”) Battery Energy Storage System (“BESS”) and related electrical infrastructure (collectively, the “Project”) located at 358 Coldbrook Street in Oakham, Massachusetts.
For its Project, the Company proposes to install 296 lithium-ion batteries, a substation, and other equipment to allow for the transmission of electricity between the batteries and an adjacent and already established transmission line. The batteries would be rated at a capacity of 180 MW/720 megawatt hours. A portion of the proposed Project Site was formerly an auto salvage and recycling facility. The proposed battery energy storage system (“BESS”) enclosures measure approximately 28.8 feet long, 5.5 feet wide, and 9.1 feet tall. The BESS units would be arranged on concrete pads in a back-to-back orientation in the southeast portion of the Project Site. Each BESS unit would be thermally 5 managed by an integrated cooling and heating system and would contain sensors supporting embedded monitoring and controls.
The Project would also include power conversion systems, medium-voltage transformers on concrete slabs, medium voltage cables, and other electric infrastructure. The Company proposes to connect the batteries to an adjacent existing overhead 115 kV transmission line (Line A127-4) owned by Massachusetts Electric Company d/b/a National Grid via an air-insulated substation (“Project Substation”), an on-site overhead 115 kV line tap that extends about 100 feet, and a 3-breaker ring bus.
The Company proposes that the Project Substation will step up the voltage when electricity is flowing from the batteries to the electrical grid and will step down the voltage when the electricity is flowing in the opposite direction, i.e., from the grid to the batteries, to allow the Project to store the power. The Company proposes to operate the Project consistently with the Massachusetts Clean Peak Standard, which incentivizes storing energy during off-peak periods and discharging electricity to the grid during times of peak load. The Project substation will include substation equipment, graveled yard area, and surrounding security fencing. The substation equipment will include a main power transformer, switchgear, circuit breakers, disconnect switches, and low- and high-voltage buses.
The closest residences to the west and east of the proposed location of the battery containers on the Project Site are approximately 1,800 feet and 1,950 feet away from the proposed location, respectively, and the closest residences to the north and south are approximately 2,200 feet and 1,400 feet away, respectively.
Project Filing with EFSB
The petition to construct the Project includes the following information: (1) a description of the Project; (2) an analysis of the need for the Project; (3) a description of the alternatives to the Project; and (4) a description of the environmental impacts of the Project.
All documents related filed in relation to a proceeding are posted to the DPU Fileroom. The Fileroom page for a proceeding represents the official record for that proceeding. The public can access the Fileroom page for this proceeding at the following link:
Contact
For further information about the proceeding, please contact the Presiding Officer at the contact information below:
Daniel Keleher
Presiding Officer Energy Facilities Siting Board
One South Station Boston, Floor 3, Boston, MA 02110
(617) 305-3623
For periodic updates, please visit the Siting Board’s webpage for this proceeding (accessible via the URL link or QR code at the top of this notice’s first page).
Useful Information
EFSB Siting and Permitting Reform Updates
For more detailed information on the Siting process: Energy Facilities Siting Board Handbook (updated 2019) | Guía para fijar la ubicación de instalaciones energéticas (2019)