Berkshire East Receives $4.5 Million Grant From Massachusetts

Massachusetts’s Berkshire East Ski Resort is set to receive a $4.5 million government grant to undertake a battery project for long-term energy storage.

The project involves Inlyte Energy, a battery manufacturer, and CutPeak Energy, a clean-tech company developing battery storage projects at ski resorts. It centers on Inlyte’s specialty: iron sodium batteries, a new riff on existing battery technology that the company hopes can serve as an alternative to lithium-ion batteries and generators.

“The project is designed around the unusual energy profile of a mountain resort: brief periods of very high electricity demand for snowmaking followed by long periods of much lower demand,” Inlyte said in a release. “Long-duration storage can use those lower-demand periods to recharge, then deliver clean power during extended snowmaking peaks while also providing backup power during grid outages.”

“Snowmaking is what keeps this mountain running in the winter, but it is also what drives our biggest electricity costs,” said Andy Cornish, general manager at Berkshire East, in the release. “This project gives us a way to address both sides of that challenge—managing our peak demand while strengthening Berkshire East’s ability to support our community when the grid is under stress.”

Another benefit of the system, Inlyte says, is that it contains no flammable organic materials and is designed to operate across a wide range of temperatures. 

“Its intrinsic safety, cold-weather performance and long-duration capability are important attributes for large-scale storage at a public-facing mountain recreation destination,” the release said.

The battery system is set to come online in 2028. The funding comes through the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources’ Advancing Massachusetts Power Energy Storage Grant Program. The grant program encompasses more than $40 million and funds projects at schools, apartment complexes, and more that improve energy storage and support training for energy systems. 

The Berkshire East portion of the grant is meant to help companies test and scale new energy storage technologies.

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