After debate, council supports private bid for battery storage system in principle – more discussions, analysis to come

CONNOR LUCZKA, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

A private company’s bid to house a battery storage system in Stratford has gotten preliminary permission from Stratford city council.

At its Dec. 8 meeting, Cordelia BESS Inc. requested support from the city for its proposed battery energy storage system (BESS) at 465 Wright Blvd., to be constructed in containers next to the vacant warehouse owned by Festival Hydro. The request is part of the company’s bid under the Independent Electricity System Operator’s (IESO) Long-Term 2 Capacity RFP, a competitive province-wide procurement effort to secure new energy storage capacity to support Ontario’s growing electricity demands. It is expected Ontario’s energy needs will grow by 75 per cent by 2050.

BESS is a preferred technology where lithium batteries are housed in containerized units and charge during off-peak hours and discharge during peak demand. The Stratford project is designed to store and discharge up to 8.8 megawatts of power (110 megawatt-hours) using a modular, container-based setup. According to information submitted with the request, it will be connected to Festival Hydro’s 27.6 kV distribution network and would operate for about 20 years. The project would support grid stability, local energy resilience and Festival Hydro’s infrastructure, according to a staff report. Additionally, according to a letter from Chris McGillivray, director of Cordelia, the project would have community benefits such as “improved local power reliability and quality, local construction and service jobs, industrial tax base contributions and support Festival Hydro’s grid modernization.”

However, according to that same staff report, if Cordelia’s plans move forward at the forecasted rate, commercial operations would only start by 2030.

After a review across city departments and with external agencies, staff are of the opinion that the use aligns with provincial policy, the city’s Official Plan, zoning bylaw and Community Climate Action Plan (CCAP). There are concerns related to aesthetics, assessment value and fire safety, and recommend these be addressed through the Site Plan Control process, which Cordelia has formally committed to. The decision made by council is for procurement purposes and does not exempt the project from normal municipal processes.

As Adam Betteridge, the director of building and planning services with the city, said, the bulk of the work on this project would be done at the Site Plan Review process.

However, for at least one councillor around the horseshoe, the promise of more details during that process was not enough to assuage concerns.

“I'm apprehensive because there are community benefits and incentives provided, and that, to me, raises a bit of red flags,” Coun. Cody Sebben said. “… I know we have site plan, we have framework in place to safeguard ourselves, but I'm also concerned about a private entity handling something that is being handled now by Festival Hydro … The accountability with a private entity who is corporation is, in my mind, a lot less, and we can put framework in place to make it more accountable, but I just have reservations.”

The motion to issue a municipal support resolution was passed with only Sebben opposed.