By Pam Wright
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Three new battery storage developments could be coming to Chatham-Kent, if Ontario’s Independent Electricity Operator (IESO) gives them the go-ahead.
At the Dec. 1 meeting, municipal council endorsed the trio of projects, that, if constructed, would generate more than $90 million for C-K over 20 years as part of community support agreements.
Aypa Power Canada is looking at building the Queen’s Line Reliability Project Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) on Queen’s Line near Dillon Road, as well as the Bloomfield Reliability Project, adjacent to the Bloomfield Business Park south of Chatham.
The Sandhill BESS project would be located east of Wallaceburg on Baseline Road.
However, it’s still early. Each company has to submit their proposals to the IESO. If approved, rigorous assessments and permitting still needs to be carried out. Following construction, 2028 is the earliest the developments would become operational.
Aypa’s application would see the 12-acre Queen’s Line development take shape on 33 acres of land and the 12-acre Bloomfield project, housed on 21 acres. The 500 MW Queen’s Line development would hold enough electricity to power 150,000 homes, while the Bloomfield facility would hold capacity of up to 200 MW.
In a presentation to council, Aypa’s Ondrej Benjik said the company is investing approximately $700 million in the Queen’s Line complex and another $350 million at Bloomfield.
Benjik said the land for each project will be leased for a 20-year period with a promise to return it to its original state when it is decommissioned.
The application for the Sandhill BESS from an Alberta numbered company (Ferma Energy and Innergex Renewable Energy Inc.) would be located near Hydro One’s recent multi-million-dollar upgrade on its transformer station east of Wallaceburg.
In his comments, Sandhill spokesman Mike Brugge told council that Sandhill will take shape on a 100-acre parcel of land, but will only sit on 30 to 40 acres.
Caldwell First Nation is an equity partner in the Wallaceburg Sandhill project.
All of the projects will spur economic growth by creating hundreds of construction jobs and a few full-time positions upon completion.
According to a report from C-K administration, Ontario’s electricity system needs to “accelerate at an unprecedented pace” in order to meet the province’s electricity demands which the IESO predicts will rise 75 per cent by 2050. Each of the new developments dovetail with major upgrades on the region’s power grid, including the expansion of the St. Clair Transmission Line and the Chatham-Lakeshore Transmission Line.
Battery storage facilities are needed, officials said, as Ontario overproduces power in the evenings. BESS projects allow that power to be stored and then released when it is needed at peak times.
C-K general manager of development services Bruce McAllister said the projects are “capacity projects,” designed to enhance the system’s reliability.
