Court Dorsey: Heartfelt thanks to Wendell voters

Today, as I was going through old Recorders, I came across two headlines that caught my eye — Nov. 28, 2024, Northfield: “AG pulls plug on energy bylaws” and Dec. 3, 2024, Shutesbury: “State overrules bylaw on battery storage.”

There seems to be an epidemic in Franklin County — cases of state usurpation of our home rule rights. In Wendell, we are battling to regulate and license battery energy storage systems, including lithium-ion batteries. Heartfelt thanks to our fellow members of the Wendell Town Meeting, who voted nearly unanimously in favor of appropriating $5,000 to challenge the Massachusetts Attorney General’s rejection of our bylaw. She seems to be more interested in promoting large energy corporations than protecting the small towns of Massachusetts.

Home rule is not just an empty concept for small communities. Last year, Wendell citizens voted 100 to 1 in support of a general bylaw to keep the power to license dangerous technologies in our own hands. One year later, our voters again voted in overwhelming numbers to support litigation challenging the state. Wendell filed a general bylaw to protect the health and safety of our residents. It is not a zoning bylaw and should not be subject to zoning mandates from the state.

It was encouraging to hear such strong support from our fellow citizens once again. We are proud to fight for every small municipality’s right to have a voice in the siting of solar facilities and regulating battery energy storage systems within their borders.

Court Dorsey, member of No Assault & Batteries

Wendell