Battery storage land in Grafton, Massachusetts

Ask which review route the company intends to use

Grafton publishes an optional consolidated local permit route effective October 1, 2026. Its page describes small storage facilities as having rated capacity below 100 megawatt-hours. An applicant can still seek individual local approvals. In Grafton, the Planning Department handles administration and the Planning Board assigns minimization and mitigation measures.

Ask the project team to identify its intended route and confirm it with the town for the actual proposal. The availability of an application process does not establish that your parcel is suitable or that a project has approval. Keep the proposed battery rating, layout and location with that explanation.

A company may approach you before it has a design or an electrical connection study. Find out what it wants permission to investigate now and what it expects to ask for later. There is a difference between discussing a possible project, allowing a survey and authorizing a permit filing.

Ask for a short written list of the next steps. Who would contact the town, prepare drawings and pay for studies? When would you see the results? Decide with your adviser how those steps fit the proposed land agreement before reserving the property for an extended period.

Reference: Town of Grafton: applications and optional consolidated local permit process

Read the owner authorization before consenting

The town-published state application distinguishes the applicant, project owner and property owner. It requests property-owner authorization letters. The company seeking permits may therefore be different from the company that owns the equipment or would sign your lease.

Ask for the proposed letter and the application it relates to. Check the property named, the purpose of the permission and the drawing that describes the project. If the letter refers to attachments, obtain those attachments before deciding whether to sign.

Have your adviser compare that permission with any option, lease, sale contract or existing agreement affecting the land. Ask who can submit revisions and whether further owner consent would be needed if the company changes the equipment area, access route or project type. The answer should come from the actual documents.

Keep the dated version you reviewed and request the version actually filed. If they differ, ask the company to explain the change. You should be able to identify which proposal uses your land and whom to contact about it.

Reference: Grafton-published DOER Consolidated Local Permit Application, July 1, 2026

Compare equipment, construction and the land agreement

The application separates the equipment footprint from land significantly affected by construction, including clearing, grading and roads. It also asks about current uses and structures. The space occupied by batteries is only one part of the land question.

Request a drawing that shows the property boundary, equipment, roads, cables, drainage, temporary storage and contractor parking. Mark anything you intend to keep using, such as a field, driveway, workshop or route to another part of the property.

Compare those areas with the land reserved in the proposed agreement. Would the company control more ground than it expects to build on? Could temporary work prevent you from reaching land outside the fence? Ask how the agreement would address each affected area and when temporary use would end.

If a route crosses another property, ask the developer to explain the rights it needs. An existing driveway is not enough information to establish permission for construction trucks, utility work or long-term project access. Find out who would obtain the necessary rights and who would maintain the route.

Keep the practical questions visible on the drawing. Where can you drive during construction? Which gates stay accessible? Where would water flow after grading? Ask for a revised drawing when an answer changes, rather than relying on an explanation that never reaches the plan.

Reference: Grafton-published DOER Consolidated Local Permit Application, July 1, 2026

Keep track of what changes before filing

The published pre-filing checklist covers municipal consultation and public engagement. Supporting materials include a project description, maps and information about public feedback. It provides a completion signature by the local government representative; completion of that stage is not a permit decision.

Ask the developer which pre-filing requirements apply to its proposal and what it has completed. Request the current project description and drawing, along with a brief account of changes resulting from the discussions. You do not need to manage the company’s permit work to ask what is being proposed on your property.

Compare those changes with the uses you expect to retain. A revised road, larger buffer or different equipment position may affect your arrangement even if the company describes the battery capacity as unchanged. Ask whether any change needs a revised land exhibit or additional permission from you.

Agree on how you will receive future revisions. A dated drawing and written explanation make it easier to discuss a specific change. They also help your adviser compare the proposal being reviewed publicly with the rights being requested privately.

Reference: Grafton-published DOER Pre-filing Engagement Completion Checklist, July 1, 2026

Discuss visits and inspections as well as construction

The application’s applicant-signature section includes access for local government photographs and visual inspections at reasonable times and with reasonable notice. That is a provision in the filing document; it does not describe every access right a developer might request from you.

Ask the company and your adviser how the filing permission fits the proposed private access terms. Identify who may enter, for what purpose, and how visits would be coordinated. If you have tenants, livestock or an operating business, explain the arrangements a visitor would need to follow.

Discuss surveys and other early investigations separately from construction. Ask which activities are proposed, what equipment would be used and who would repair damage. A walk around the property and work that disturbs the ground should not be left under one vague description.

Have the company identify a contact for appointments and problems. Ask how a change of applicant, operator or contractor would be communicated. Keep those procedures with the relevant documents so you can use them when someone requests a visit.

Reference: Grafton-published DOER Consolidated Local Permit Application, July 1, 2026

Separate review progress from your payment terms

Ask what remains before the developer can build: land rights, electrical studies, permits, financing or another commercial step. Request evidence for a claim that a particular step is complete. A submitted application, a finished engagement stage and a final permit answer different questions.

Have your adviser check when payments begin, what happens if the project stalls and how the land reservation ends. Ask whether extensions need your consent, carry an additional payment and have a final limit. Your agreement should address the dates that affect you rather than depending on a general promise that approval will be quick.

Discuss who pays for application work, studies and review costs, and how those obligations would be written. Ask about ongoing taxes, insurance, access maintenance and removal as well. The value of an arrangement depends on the land involved and the responsibilities allocated, not just the headline payment.

Before signing, request an explanation of how the land would be returned when the project ends. Identify which roads, foundations and buried services would be removed or left, who pays and what supports that promise if the operator changes. Compare the proposed restoration with your intended next use of the property.

Tell Sunland about your Grafton property

Start with your name, email and phone number. Then provide the property location or a parcel reference and anything you already know about a battery proposal. Acreage and additional property details are helpful if available, but you do not need a completed permit package to inquire.

If a company has approached you, tell us what it is asking for: an initial discussion, survey access, an option, an application authorization or a change to an existing project. A short description helps us understand which questions matter first.

Sunland can follow up about the site and relevant records. An inquiry does not establish connection capacity, project approval or a payment offer. It also does not authorize Sunland to file an application on your behalf or commit you to a lease or sale.