AGAWAM, Mass. (WGGB/WSHM) -- A meeting is being held in Agawam discussing the proposed construction of a Battery Storage Facility on Silver Street. Western Mass News joined the discussion at the Agawam Senior Center, hosted by Boston based company, Longroad Energy.

Battery Energy Storage Systems have been a hot topic here in Western Massachusetts, with facilities being proposed in multiple communities like Blandford, Westfield, Southampton, and of course, now Agawam.

Many residents we’ve spoken with previously are voicing their concerns, saying they’re worried about things like fires coming from these systems.

The BESS Facility being discussed Monday night is slated to be built at the Old Lucia Lumber Property located at 769 Silver Street.

There are still several legal agreements, permitting approvals and other planning steps that need to be completed before the Agawam Energy Center is ready to begin construction. However, if all goes according to plan, construction is expected to start next year.

On Monday evening, Western Mass News spoke with Agawam’s Fire Chief, Alan Sirois, who tells us the town is taking the proper steps when it comes to this project, and is making safety their priority.

“The community is doing everything it can to ensure that the installation of these kinds of battery energy storage systems is done as safely as possible, in a responsible way as possible to ensure safety for the community as well as first responders,” he explains.

We also spoke with Westfield City Councilor, Dan Allie, who was at the forefront of opposing Westfield’s BESS Facility, previously proposed by Jupiter Power. On Monday night, he tells us he’s opposed to having any facility like this anywhere in the Pioneer Valley, saying, “Any facility of this size, a fire would affect the entire community so you’re talking all the colleges the Connecticut River, our homes our lives all the agriculture, places like Northampton, UMass, the entire valley.”

On Western Mass News at 10 & 11, we’ll have more from Monday nights discussion, and the message Longroad Energy hopes residents can take away from it.

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