Oakham Files EFSB Intervention Petition, Retains Outside Counsel for Battery Storage Fight

OAKHAM — October 29, 2025 — Oakham moves to formally intervene in state proceeding over proposed 180-megawatt battery storage project. The Oakham BEST Committee, meeting October 29, reported that the Select Board had voted earlier in the week to authorize outside legal counsel and that the town planned to file a petition to intervene with the Energy Facilities Siting Board on October 30, with an initial legal brief to follow. Planning Board representative Phil said he had issued a request for proposals to Quinn Engineering of Paxton for a civil engineering peer review and had mailed letters to 29 residents near a comparable Carver facility seeking noise observations. Committee members flagged a potential discrepancy in the project's own filings: civil engineering plans show 296 individual battery units, which members argued could support capacity closer to 296 megawatts rather than the stated 180, noting the units cost roughly one million dollars each and that no developer would buy 100 extras without intending to use them. The committee voted unanimously to approve its October 2 minutes and set its next meeting for November 12 at 6:30 p.m.