Jupiter Power withdraws lithium battery storage proposal over Barnes aquifer
'After months of communication and consideration, I am very pleased to announce that Jupiter Power has withdrawn their proposal for a battery energy storage site in the city of Westfield,' McCabe said.
The Streamfield Battery Energy Storage Site proposed by Jupiter Power overlapped the Barnes Aquifer, which has a recent and costly history of PFAS contamination. The project caused an outpouring from residents in Westfield and neighboring communities, who voiced their opposition to the plan at meetings and in other public forums.
The mayor said he had received a brief statement from the company that morning that also followed a recent meeting he had with Miller, Velis and Jack Godshall, chief financial officer of Jupiter Power, that he shared at the press conference.
'Jupiter Power has a broad portfolio of projects in active development across the United States, and is consistently evaluating which projects to continue to invest in and advance. While we know that the Streamfield project would bring many economic and grid resiliency benefits to the region, and are of course disappointed with the outcome, Jupiter Power has now made the business decision to terminate the Streamfield project and focus development efforts elsewhere,' the statement from Godshall read.
McCabe said he had been impressed in that final meeting with the company at how much they had listened to Westfield.
'City Council President John Beltrandi, state Sen. John Velis, [state] House Rep. Kelly Pease and I have been meeting and speaking with the company over the past few months. I am happy to report that the meetings were congenial and achieved the transparency necessary for Jupiter to come to this conclusion,' McCabe said.
Velis said before the last meeting with Jupiter Power, he had expected 'a full-on brawl. I give them credit. They listened in a collaborative manner and were cognizant of Westfield's history.'
Velis said he was also impressed by the number of emails and phone calls his office received on this matter, and the people who came together in opposition.
'I would like to thank our City Council, especially Councilors Dan Allie and Kristen Mello for getting the word out to our constituents and to those residents who answered the call and wrote letters, attended meetings and otherwise voiced their concerns to the [Department of Public Utilities] Siting Board. There is no doubt that vocal public discourse contributed to Jupiter Power's decision to withdraw,' McCabe said.
'In my 40 years in public service, I never saw an issue like this that was unanimously panned. Nobody was in favor, they were 100 percent opposed,' McCabe said.
'The protection of our City's natural resources should be paramount in all our decision-making processes and to that end we are very pleased with this development,' he added.
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