Burlington Electric Targets July Council Vote on Five-Megawatt McNeil Battery Storage

Other Committee · Meeting of June 23, 2026

Burlington Electric Department is targeting a July 13 City Council vote to authorize a five-megawatt battery storage project at the McNeil Generating Station, while a parallel report from the Department of Permitting Inspections found 503 rental properties remain out of compliance with the city's weatherization ordinance. BED General Manager Darren Springer told the City Council Transportation, Energy, and Utilities Committee on June 23 that the storage system, capable of dispatching 20 megawatt-hours over four hours, would be sited in the ash area of the McNeil plant and would represent roughly one-twelfth of Burlington's peak demand. "Burlington has been kind of decidedly behind on battery storage.

We tend to want to be a leader. We tend to be a leader. We are not a leader on battery storage," Springer said.

Department of Permitting Inspections Director Bill reported that no carbon pollution impact fee revenue has been collected since the ordinance took effect at the end of 2023, with the first fee expected within 60 days from a 436 Riverside Avenue redevelopment project. The committee voted unanimously to join a statewide public transit funding advocacy campaign organized by the transportation group of 350 Vermont, which also includes Green Mountain Transit, VNRC, and AARP as participants.

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Source: the Other Committee meeting of June 23, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.