HOLDEN, Mass. - A new battery storage project aims to save a Central Massachusetts town at least $10 million over the system's 20-year life expectancy.

The project is Holden’s latest clean energy effort which state and town leaders say will be crucial for strengthening grid resilience and reducing the community’s carbon footprint.

Lightshift Energy and Holden Municipal Light Department are working together on the project.

They said it will lessen the strain on the grid, reduce fossil fuel emissions and deliver financial savings to Holden residents.

"This is a really important part of our overall energy landscape going forward and this offers an opportunity to decarbonize our grid, reduce emissions, but also, as has been highlighted today, improve grid resilience and respond to emergency situations and also reduce costs for repairs” said Massachusetts Undersecretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs Mike Judge. “Projects like this and energy storage in general, allow us to reduce the amount of energy we're consuming at peak times and reduce cost for customers while doing all these other great benefits."

The project is one of several in the state developed with the Massachusetts Municipal Wholesale Electric Company.

The MMWEC is the state's designated joint action agency for municipal utilities and serves nearly 200,000 customers.