October Public Comment Hearing
The Siting Board will conduct a hybrid public comment hearing, with in-person and remote participation options on:
Thursday, October 9, 2025 at 6:30 p.m.
Tewksbury Memorial High School Auditorium
320 Pleasant Street
Tewksbury, MA 01876
Remote attendees: join by using the following 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: 884-0863-9744
To provide oral comments during the 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 25-08”) by Wednesday, October 8, 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 Friday, October 24, 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.
The video recording of this hearing is now available for viewing through the following link.
Important Dates
Public Review of the Company's Petition
A detailed description of the Project, links to the Company’s petition, attachments, and analyses, and periodic updates are electronically available on the Siting Board’s webpage for the Project at the URL link and QR code at the top of the first page of this notice. In addition, electronic copies of the petitions and attachments have been provided to the Town of Tewksbury. The Company maintains a webpage for the Project. Hard copies of the Company’s petition and attachments are available for public inspection at the following locations:
Boston
- Energy Facilities Siting Board, One South Station, 3rd floor, Boston, MA 02110
Tewksbury
- Town Clerk, Town of Tewksbury, 1009 Main Street, Tewksbury, MA 01876
- Tewksbury Public Library, 300 Chandler St, Tewksbury, MA 01876
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 hearing 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.
Petition to intervene must demonstrate that the petitioner may be substantially and specifically affected by this proceeding. See below for filing instructions. For additional information on the Siting Board procedural rules, please see the following link.
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, donna.sharkey@mass.gov, akaplan@pierceatwood.com
The filing deadline is Friday, October 24, 2025.
The text of the e-mail must specify: (1) the docket number of the proceeding (“EFSB 25-08”); (2) the name of the person or entity submitting the filing; and (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.
The request for intervention must state and explain the way or ways in which the requester may be specifically and substantially affected by the Project; a limited participant request must describe the reason for the petitioner’s interest and purpose of participation.
For more information on the Siting Board’s procedural rules, please see the following link.
Project Information
On April 1, 2025, Hillman Energy Center, LLC petitioned the Energy Facilities Siting Board (“the Siting Board” or “EFSB”), pursuant to G.L. c. 40A, § 3, to grant individual and comprehensive exemptions from the Town of Tewksbury, Massachusetts Zoning Bylaw (the “Zoning Bylaw”) to construct a 125 megawatt (“MW”) Battery Energy Storage System (“BESS”) and related infrastructure, including a new electric substation, on approximately 4.3 acres of previously developed industrial land located at 73-75 Hillman Street, as well as an approximately 1,200 foot long new electric transmission interconnection (“the Proposed Transmission Interconnection”) across three parcels of land; two are owned by New England Power Company d/b/a National Grid (“National Grid”) and the third is owned by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (“MBTA”) in Tewksbury, Massachusetts (collectively, the “Project”). Both the 4.3 acres located at 73-75 Hillman Street and the land owned by National Grid and the MBTA that will contain the proposed new electric transmission interconnection are collectively referred to herein as “the Project Site”. The Project will be interconnected to National Grid’s existing Tewksbury 22 Substation (“Interconnection Substation”), located off Power Company Road in Tewksbury.
Hillman Energy Center, LLC proposes to construct a BESS project on two parcels of land, i.e., Parcel 35-6-MAIN and Parcel 35-7, at 73 and 75 Hillman Street in Tewksbury (the “BESS site”) The site occupied by the two parcels, is bounded by Hillman Street to the south, high voltage powerlines to the west, railroad tracks to the north, and Clinton Street to the east. Generally, land uses surrounding the BESS site include existing electric transmission corridors and related infrastructure, extensive wetland areas to the north and west, and commercial/industrial development to the east and south. The Project proposes installation of 169 BESS modules – consisting of lithium-ion batteries housed in above-ground storage cabinets and transformers on concrete slabs – on approximately 4.3 acres of land.
The Proposed Transmission Interconnection line would extend approximately 1,200 feet and traverse four separate tax parcels: Parcel ID 35-4, Parcel ID 35-5, and Parcel ID 49-34, all owned by National Grid; and Parcel ID 11-1, owned by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (“MBTA”). Per the Town of Tewksbury’s zoning map, Parcel ID 11-1, Parcel ID 35-4, and Parcel ID 35-5 are zoned Industrial, and Parcel ID 49-34 is zoned Park District. Additionally, Parcel ID 11-1 is situated in an existing railroad corridor, and Parcel ID 35-5 and Parcel ID 49- 34 contain the existing National Grid Substation 22A and wetland areas. In total, approximately 3.8 acres is developed with an existing landscaping business and a truck repair shop.
The remaining 0.25 acres of this parcel consists of an isolated vegetated wetland. The 75 Hillman Street Parcel is approximately 0.29 acres in size, contains equipment storage and other industrial uses, and is entirely developed. The Project Site is located within a Zone II Wellhead Protection Area, as mapped by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection. The Company contends that no part of the Project Site is mapped or identified as Outstanding Resource Waters, and that the Project Site does not contain any mapped floodplains, estimated habitat for state-listed rare species, certified vernal pools, areas identified as Areas of Critical Environmental Concern, surface water supply protection areas, or protected open space.
Figure 1, below, provides an aerial view of the Project Site and vicinity:
Project Filing with EFSB
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:
Accomodation & Languages Services 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, 9th Floor
100 Cambridge Street, Boston, MA 02114
eeadiversity@mass.gov, 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 your request as soon as possible. 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.
Non-Discrimnation 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 by clicking the available link.
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.
Contact
For further information about intervention or participation in the proceeding, please contact the
Presiding Officer at the email address or telephone number below:
Donna Sharkey
Presiding Officer
Energy Facilities Siting Board
One South Station, Floor 3
Boston, MA 02110
Donna.sharkey@mass.gov
(617)-305-3625
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)