Lightshift Energy and Wakefield Municipal Gas & Light Commission Energy Storage Microgrid to Keep Schools Powered During Outages
New battery energy storage project at Wakefield’s Energy Park to provide clean backup power for schools while delivering $20 million in expected savings to WMGLD customers
WAKEFIELD, Mass.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Lightshift Energy, in partnership with Wakefield Municipal Gas and Light Department (WMGLD) and the Massachusetts Municipal Wholesale Electric Company (MMWEC) today announced the commercial operation of a 5 megawatt (MW) battery energy storage system that will power two Wakefield high schools and operate as a resilient, grid-connected microgrid. Developed as part of WMGLD’s Energy Park Project, the battery system is designed primarily to reduce peak demand on the grid, which is expected to save local customers $20 million over the life of the project. It will also provide backup power to Wakefield Memorial High School and Northeast Metropolitan Regional Vocational High School during outages.
As New England’s grid faces growing stress from demand and extreme weather, the project ensures the schools can remain powered and serve as community shelters during emergencies. The battery displaces the need for diesel backup generators and uses peak shaving revenue to support full electrification of both buildings, enabling clean and reliable heating and cooling year-round.
“Energy storage was our first choice when identifying a more cost-effective and renewable solution to power the schools, compared to diesel backup generators that would have cost $1.2 million per generator,” said Peter Dion, WMGLD’s General Manager. “We are incredibly grateful to have the entire town’s support to deploy the Lightshift battery that will provide cleaner, cheaper, and more reliable electricity to our schools.”
This is the third project in a broader Lightshift-MMWEC partnership to bring energy storage systems to many of the joint action agency’s member utilities. The MMWEC program is estimated to provide more than $200 million in energy savings for residents across Massachusetts.
“This project is such a great example of the many ways energy storage strengthens the communities we partner with. We are bringing clean backup power to schools and supporting their electrification while also providing WMGLD customers with major, risk-free savings,” said Rory Jones, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Lightshift Energy. “We couldn’t be more excited to partner with WMGLD on this innovative and timely project.”
“We’re thrilled to be part of this partnership with Lightshift Energy, WMGLD and several other municipal light plants,” said Jason Viadero, MMWEC’s Director of Engineering and Generation Assets. “Wakefield has been one of the energy storage trailblazers amongst the municipal utilities, having installed their first battery in 2019. Their innovative energy park is further demonstration of the out-of-the-box thinking we will need as part of our clean energy future.”
To mark the project launch, Lightshift is also announcing a $10,000 donation to the Boys & Girls Club of MetroNorth to support the establishment of its planned Energy Education Center which will inspire and educate the next generation of young leaders. The contribution is part of Lightshift’s Beyond the Grid initiative, which supports key organizations in the communities where the company develops and operates energy projects.
About Lightshift Energy
Lightshift Energy is a utility-scale energy storage project developer, owner and operator headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. Founded in 2019, Lightshift is developing a diverse, multi-gigawatt pipeline of energy storage projects, located throughout the U.S. With leading energy storage analytics, application design, finance, and development expertise, Lightshift deploys dynamic, multi-use energy storage projects that maximize value for utilities and other partners, while reinvesting directly into the communities where their projects are located. For more information, please visit www.lightshift.com.
About the Massachusetts Municipal Wholesale Electric Company (MMWEC)
MMWEC is the Commonwealth’s designated joint action agency for municipal utilities in Massachusetts. Through its enabling state legislation, Chapter 775 of the Acts of 1975, MMWEC became a not-for-profit, public corporation and political subdivision of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. MMWEC’s enabling legislation gave it the unique power to issue tax-exempt revenue bonds to finance electric generating facilities and other projects. Using this statutory authority, MMWEC has issued more than $7 billion in bonds since 1976. It is the largest provider of asset-owned generation for municipal light departments in New England.
About the Wakefield Municipal Gas & Light Department
Wakefield Municipal Gas and Light serves 14,000 electric customers and 7,000 gas customers in the Town of Wakefield, Massachusetts. They have been nationally recognized for their reliability and operational excellence in both the gas and electric business units. They have also been acknowledged for their leadership in projects like the Energy Park.
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