The Healey-Driscoll Administration today announced $40.3 million in grants to expand energy storage across Massachusetts, helping critical facilities stay powered during outages, supporting training for first responders and municipal officials, and advancing innovative long-duration storage technologies.
The Department of Energy Resources’ Advancing Massachusetts Power Energy Storage Grant Program awarded funding to 36 projects across three areas: Community Resilience, Safety and Education, and Long Duration Energy Storage. The projects include affordable housing developments, schools, community centers, public works facilities, wastewater treatment plants and other critical community infrastructure.
“This is about lowering energy costs and keeping the lights on when communities need it most,” said Governor Maura Healey. “These investments will help schools, affordable housing, community centers and other critical facilities stay powered during outages while strengthening our grid for the future. We’re also making sure first responders and local officials have the training and tools they need as more energy storage comes online across Massachusetts.”
“Communities need reliable power and the confidence that new energy technologies are being deployed safely,” said Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll. “These grants will help cities and towns strengthen critical infrastructure, prepare first responders and local officials, and take advantage of storage technology that can save money and improve resilience.”
“Batteries supplied more electricity to the grid in the first eight months of 2026 than in all of 2025 – we’re bringing that momentum to the Massachusetts communities that need it the most,” said Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Rebecca Tepper. “We are also excited to be supporting two innovative zinc- and sodium-based storage systems to help us get through major storms, showing that Massachusetts is a great place to deploy and scale the latest tech.”
“We are especially proud that the vast majority of this funding is headed to environmental justice communities, which typically are burdened by longer power outages, an aging grid, and higher energy bills,” said Energy Resources Commissioner Elizabeth Mahony. “Every community in Massachusetts deserves a strong, resilient grid and affordable energy bills. These grants help make that possible.”
Community Resilience
Extreme weather and power outages can disrupt the essential services communities rely on. These grants will help install battery storage at schools, affordable housing developments, community centers, public works facilities, wastewater treatment plants and other critical sites so they can keep operating during outages while also helping reduce energy costs. Together, the projects will add roughly 10 megawatts, or 44 megawatt hours, of battery storage capacity across Massachusetts.
Safety and Education
As more energy storage systems come online, communities need the training and tools to deploy and manage them safely. These grants will support first responders, municipal officials, electricians, contractors and regional planning organizations with training on battery safety, fire codes, permitting, inspections, emergency response and other best practices.
Energy Storage Innovation
Long-duration energy storage can help communities maintain reliable power during extended outages and periods of high electricity demand. These grants will support two projects using sodium-iron chloride and zinc-based technologies that can store electricity for 10 to 20 hours, while helping innovative companies test and scale new storage technologies in Massachusetts.
“State government is finding ways to preserve its clean energy commitments in the face of deep resistance from Washington,” said State Senator Michael J. Barrett (D-Third Middlesex), Senate Chair of the Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy. “These grants testify to the Commonwealth’s commitment to staying the course. This should be extremely reassuring to everyone.”
“I applaud DOER for launching the Advancing Massachusetts Power Grant Program, which will help communities across the Commonwealth to safely deploy energy storage systems to improve community resiliency, and also provide funding to innovative long-duration storage technologies,” said State Representative Mark J. Cusack (D-Braintree), House Chair of the Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy. “As Massachusetts increasingly faces extreme weather events, ensuring our most critical facilities, such as the Braintree Department of Public Works, have power is crucial to providing essential services to our constituents.”
“As Massachusetts continues to move away from fossil fuels for cleaner energy, electricity storage remains an important part of the equation,” said State Senator Cindy F. Friedman (D-Arlington). “Energy storage reduces costs, increases resilience, and decreases reliance on fossil fuels. I am excited about this thoughtful approach to engaging public and nonprofit partners — especially in Arlington and Lexington — to increase our capacity for storing energy in the Commonwealth.”
“I am deeply grateful to the Healey‑Driscoll Administration and the Department of Energy Resources for their continued commitment to strengthening community resilience across Massachusetts,” said State Senator Adam Gómez (D-Hampden).” Springfield has long faced the impacts of environmental injustice, and this investment in modern energy storage at our wastewater treatment plant is a meaningful step toward addressing that history. This support not only enhances critical infrastructure, but it also helps ensure a healthier, more equitable future for our residents.”
“This investment strengthens our region’s energy resilience. We’re grateful to the Department of Energy Resources for recognizing the importance of local projects, like this one in Braintree, that deliver real benefits to residents and businesses across the Commonwealth,” said State Senator John F. Keenan (D-Norfolk and Plymouth) and State Senator Bill Driscoll (D-Norfolk, Plymouth Bristol). “Braintree has long been a leader in forward-thinking municipal energy planning, and this grant will help the community continue that work and ensure that we have the necessary resources to keep residents safe in the face of extreme weather emergencies and outages.”
“This $1.3 million in grant funding allows Medway to strengthen our community resilience by powering our Department of Public Works facility through severe weather and grid disruptions,” said State Representative Jeffrey Roy (D-Franklin). “Battery energy storage is a proven, reliable solution that will both lower our municipal energy costs and keep essential emergency operations running when our residents need them most. We are grateful to the Healey-Driscoll Administration and the Department of Energy Resources for investing in Medway through the AMP Energy Storage program.”
“Energy storage is a key frontier for improving the Commonwealth’s ability to meet its climate goals and help us maintain an affordable energy supply for residents,” said State Representative Michelle L. Ciccolo (D-Lexington). I am immensely proud of the Josiah Willard Hayden Recreation Center for its work to advance these goals and I applaud DOER for investing in these efforts.”
More information about the grant program can be found on DOER’s website.
Awardee Quotes:
Statewide
Seth Mullendor, President and Executive Director, Clean Energy Group
“Clean Energy Group is excited to collaborate with our partners at Berkshire Environmental Action Team and Slingshot to help smaller communities across the Commonwealth develop a better understanding of the benefits and potential risks of battery storage development. This critical investment in public safety and education will bring communities together to collectively share questions, voice concerns, and learn from each other’s experiences.”
David Gahl, Executive Director, Solar and Storage Industries Institute
“The Solar and Storage Industries Institute and its project partners are excited to begin this very important work. Based on the expected growth of energy storage systems to help prevent power outages and help save customers and ratepayers money, communities across the Commonwealth need high quality, independent information about safety standards, emergency protocols, to inform reasonable siting practices that support the state’s energy goals. On behalf of the entire project team, we are grateful to the Healey-Driscoll Administration and the Department for funding this effort.”
Nate Birmingham, Sr. Principal – Executive Vice President, Code Red Consultants, LLC
“Battery energy storage systems are an important part of Massachusetts’ clean energy future, and their safe deployment depends on informed collaboration between industry, municipalities, and the fire service. We are excited to bring our expertise in fire protection engineering to this team in support of that shared goal”.
Nicole Obi, President and CEO, Black Economic Council of Massachusetts “Through our longstanding partnership with BT2 Energy, electricians and contractors gain hands-on preparation for the realities of energy storage installation. By pairing that training with battery storage at our Sustainability Hub, DOER is helping build capacity across Massachusetts to deploy energy storage safely and effectively.”
Greater Boston
Lizzi Weyant, Executive Director, Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC)
“We are so glad to have the opportunity to provide trainings to municipal leaders, planners, and fire safety professionals in the cities and towns we serve. The AMP program will provide important support to safely increase battery energy storage deployment. This will help us meet our climate and energy affordability goals and ensure that cities and towns have the tools they need to review and permit these projects.”
Oliver Sellers-Garcia, Environment Commissioner and Green New Deal Director, City of Boston
“The AMP Grant Program is helping Boston build our first two municipally-owned battery energy storage systems at Mattahunt Elementary School and Tobin Community Center. This funding will build resilience within our communities – powering vital services such as education and childcare – all while reducing pollution and energy costs. We are grateful for our partnership with the Healey-Driscoll Administration to help power communities with higher needs within our city.”
Kenzie Bok, Administrator, Boston Housing Authority
“The Boston Housing Authority is excited to be deploying energy storage systems at three of our developments: Lower Mills in Dorchester, Pond Street in Jamaica Plain, and Heritage Apartments in East Boston. Installing this critical infrastructure will enable the BHA to build community resilience, and keep power on during outages for our elderly and disabled residents, while lowering utility costs. Thank you to our residents for their partnership in making our communities more resilient and to the Healey-Driscoll Administration for prioritizing affordable housing communities as the Commonwealth continues to invest in energy storage and grid modernization.”
Darien Crimmin, Vice President of Energy & Sustainability, WinnCompanies
“With these grants, the Healey- Driscoll Administration is leading the field when it comes to recognizing the benefits that energy storage can bring to Massachusetts. For the residents and operators of multifamily properties, battery storage innovation can create a safe, affordable and more reliable energy infrastructure, especially during peak demand and power emergencies. For the Commonwealth as a whole, batteries are a critical piece of the strategy for achieving a lower cost, clean energy future.”
Central Massachusetts
Joseph M. Petty, Mayor & Councilor-at-Large, City of Worcester
“Worcester continues to lead the way in building a resilient, sustainable community, and that work starts by protecting our most vulnerable neighbors. This $521,640 investment from the Healey-Driscoll Administration ensures that when severe weather strikes, residents at Lafayette Place will have reliable backup power when they need it most. We are grateful to the Department of Energy Resources and our partners at the Worcester Housing Authority for working collaboratively with the City to bring clean, dependable energy infrastructure directly to our public housing community.”
Western Massachusetts
Tracy Rogers, Director of Emergency Management, Franklin Regional Council of Governments
“This investment recognizes that emerging energy technologies require a coordinated public-safety response. By providing specialized battery energy storage system training to first responders across the region, this grant will build shared knowledge, improve preparedness, and help protect the people who respond when communities need them most.”
Andy Cornish, General Manager, Berkshire East Mountain Resort
“We’re grateful to the Commonwealth for this $4.5 million investment and for recognizing what Berkshire East means to Western Mass — not just as a ski area, but as a year-round employer and economic anchor for the region. As we work through the planning process, the potential is exciting: long-duration energy storage that could help manage peak energy costs, strengthen local resilience with backup power during outages and severe weather, and create opportunities for local businesses along the way. We’re proud that a rural community is part of the conversation about what the clean energy transition can look like.”