New England’s Largest Battery is Hidden Inside a Massachusetts Mountain
Inside the Northfield Mountain pumped storage hydroelectric station. Photo credit: Jesse Costa / WBUR
It was Boston-born Ben Franklin who first used the term “battery” to describe an electric storage device. Now, nearly threeĀ centuries later, Massachusetts is hoping to jump-start the development of new kinds of batteries to power the future.
The state has launched a $10 million Energy Storage Initiative. The 10-year goal: Save electric ratepayers hundreds of million dollars, make the electrical grid more reliable and resilient, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Today’s batteries come in all shapes and sizes. The largest in New EnglandĀ — and once the worldĀ — was built 45 years ago and is still working.
But it’s hidden, on top and deep inside a mountain in north-central Massachusetts.