FERGUS ‒ Some residents and councillors feel independent power producer, Aypa Power's proposed battery storage facility could jeopardize public safety while creating the wrong first impression for the town.
Delegating before council Monday evening, vice-president Nadia Marquez Pabst asked council to issue a Municipal Support Resolution (MSR) for Aypa Power to include as a part of its bid submission to construct the Elora Battery Energy Storage System project (BESS).
Battery Energy Storage Systems, or BESS, are rechargeable batteries that can store energy from different sources or during off-peak hours and onto the electricity grid when needed while reducing the province's reliance on fossil-fuel generation.
This follows over 30 residents sharing concerns about system safety and performance, emergency response protocols, and potential impacts on local municipal resources like water during a public open house about the proposed facility at the CW Community Sportsplex in Fergus earlier this month.
"Energy as you know is one of the highest regulated industries in the world and battery energy storage is certainly no exception," said Pabst, during her delegation. "As a company, we take every precaution to meet rigorous safety and performance standards for each of our investments."
"Aypa Power Canada’s proposed Elora BESS project utilizes a specific type of lithium-ion battery known as Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) battery," Pabst said in response to a post-meeting follow-up question asking what type of storage would be used.
She also said that the company is "considering" an annual contribution to the municipality based on megawatts and the contract with Independent Electricity System Operator, which has been done in other municipalities.
A part of the Independent Electricity System Operator's Long-term 1 Request for Proposals to expand Ontario’s grid capacity over a decade, the BESS project would span 15 acres of private land at the intersection of 2 Line and Guelph Road and generate up to 200 MW or 800 MWh of energy storage for the county.
While Pabst anticipates 200-300 jobs would be created over a three-year construction period, the facility will only generate six to eight full-time jobs during operation.
But Coun. Jennifer Adams said her primary concern is the proposed facility’s close proximity to lands that will be “densely developed” according to the Fergus Secondary Plan.
“This (would be) your first impression as you enter our community," said Adams. "I don’t know if looking to the fields and seeing a bunch of shipping container-like things for acres and acres was the picture I had in my mind.”
She also mirrored resident concerns about safety, especially in a future dense residential area, and how the BESS project may "pull on resources."
“We’ve seen emergency disasters in areas where there have been propane facilities and such located in dense residential areas so the safety is a concern for me,” said Adams. “We are a volunteer fire department community...and I feel like this adds another element that they need to have some specialized training in.”
According to Pabst, the company is aware of the development proposed in the Fergus Secondary Plan, as well as local fire department resources, and has taken them into consideration as part of the study process.
In Belwood, another independent power producer, Alectra Energy Solutions is also looking to build a battery storage facility but Janet Harrop, the past president of the Wellington Federation of Agriculture, claims this poses a risk for fires and is not feasible given the volunteer firefighter model in Centre Wellington.
Staff will return to council with a detailed report at a future meeting.
All answers to questions asked during the public meeting are available here.
Isabel Buckmaster is the Local Journalism Initiative reporter for GuelphToday. LJI is a federally-funded program.
