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Massachusetts aims to bring 5 gigawatts of battery storage online by 2030 and another 5 GW by 2035, backed by incentives, permitting reforms and utility procurements. Developers are advancing major projects, but expensive grid interconnections remain a significant obstacle.
Massachusetts is targeting 10 gigawatts of battery storage by 2035 and has paired that goal with incentives, permitting reforms and utility procurements designed to accelerate construction. The policies are helping developers advance large projects, but high grid-interconnection costs remain a barrier to bringing some of them online.
The state’s goal is to install 5 GW of storage by 2030, followed by another 5 GW by 2035. Massachusetts exceeded an earlier target of 1 GW by 2025, reaching more than 1.6 GW, according to the source report. The 10 GW target is described in the report as the highest among 13 states with battery-storage procurement targets.
Several large developments are at different stages. Near Boston, Jupiter Power is preparing the 700-megawatt Trimount project, with construction slated to begin next year. Another company has closed on $850 million in financing for a 250-MW battery, while a 200-MW facility near the Rhode Island border has broken ground. The report says roughly half a dozen other projects are also progressing, but it does not provide a complete project-by-project schedule.
Three policy tools underpin the effort. The Clean Peak Standard, in effect since 2020, pays renewable-energy and storage owners for supplying power during periods of peak demand. Siting and permitting reforms that took effect July 1 give the state Energy Facilities Siting Board authority over large projects, including storage facilities of at least 100 MW, and require decisions within 15 months of application. State procurements are intended to secure storage capacity through contracts with utilities.
How Batteries Could Ease Grid Pressures
Storage can shift electricity across the day: batteries can charge when power is relatively cheap and plentiful, including during strong solar output, and discharge when demand rises. That flexibility could reduce reliance on more expensive, higher-emitting generation during peak periods. Massachusetts officials and advocates say this matters in a state with ambitious clean-energy goals and some of the country’s highest electricity prices; the policies are intended to make storage projects more viable, not to guarantee a particular bill reduction.
Batteries may also help the grid respond to outages during increasingly erratic and extreme weather. The state’s scale of ambition could support a larger market for storage development, but whether projects deliver lower costs and greater resilience will depend on construction, grid connections and how facilities operate once online.
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From Early Targets to Statewide Buildout
Massachusetts began its storage push in 2015 with the Energy Storage Initiative under then-Gov. Charlie Baker. Its initial goal was 1 GW by 2025; the state exceeded that target, according to the report. The current 10 GW ambition extends the effort across the next decade.
The Clean Peak Standard added a revenue stream for projects by compensating them for supplying power at peak times. More recently, permitting changes have shifted approval authority for large facilities toward the state siting board rather than leaving developers to navigate separate municipal processes. The reforms are intended to make timelines more predictable, while procurements give developers a route to contracts with utilities.
In December 2025, Massachusetts selected four projects totaling 1.3 GW to proceed to contract negotiations with major utilities. A second solicitation received 35 bids before closing earlier this month, with selected projects expected to be announced in February, according to the source report.
“Massachusetts is really a leader in this space.”
— Erin Smith, energy and grid policy director for the Environmental League of Massachusetts
Grid Connection Costs Could Stall Projects
The scale and timing of the buildout are not assured. The clearest obstacle in the report is the cost of connecting large batteries to the electricity grid. Developers canceled a proposed 125-MW Tewksbury project in September after citing an unexpectedly high $65 million price for required upgrades. A regional grid-operator study found estimated connection costs above $200 million for many proposed projects, most of them Massachusetts battery developments, according to the report.
The supplied report excerpt ends while describing those estimates, so it does not provide the full study findings or a complete account of how costs would be allocated. It also does not establish whether the projects in development will reach construction, secure final contracts or operate on the stated schedules. The expected consumer savings, emissions effects and resilience benefits remain outcomes to be measured rather than confirmed results.
Contract Talks and February Selections
The four projects selected in December 2025 must move through contract negotiations with major utilities. Separately, the state is expected to announce the projects chosen from the second solicitation in February. Those decisions should clarify how much proposed capacity could advance toward utility agreements, though selection alone does not mean a facility is built or operating.
Developers will also need to resolve permitting, financing and grid-connection arrangements. Trimount’s construction is slated to begin next year, while the 200-MW project near the Rhode Island border is reported to be under construction with operations expected by year’s end. Actual completion dates and the effect of interconnection costs on these and other projects remain to be seen.
Key Questions
What is Massachusetts’ battery-storage target?
The state aims to install 5 GW by 2030 and another 5 GW by 2035, for a total goal of 10 GW.
What policies are intended to support battery projects?
Support includes payments under the Clean Peak Standard for supplying power during peak demand, state-level siting and permitting authority for large facilities, and utility procurements for storage capacity.
What is the main obstacle for proposed projects?
Grid interconnection costs are a major concern. Developers cited $65 million in required upgrades when canceling a proposed 125-MW Tewksbury battery, and many estimates in a regional study reportedly exceeded $200 million.
Will the battery buildout lower electricity bills?
That has not been established. Batteries may store electricity when it is cheaper and release it during periods of high demand, but the report does not quantify resulting savings for customers.
When will the next project decisions be announced?
Projects selected in the second state solicitation are expected to be announced in February. The report does not specify the calendar year in its wording; the selected projects would still need to proceed through later steps.
Source: canarymedia.com
