Ontario's Minister of Energy and Electrification was in Tilbury on Friday afternoon to unveil a battery storage facility on the border of Tilbury and Lakeshore.
Minister Stephen Lecce made the official announcement, saying the project celebrates the resurgence of industrialization in Ontario and helps the province stay competitive on the global stage.
The $180 million project will create 150 new jobs, mostly in the construction of the facility.
The 80 megawatt project is equivalent to powering 80,000 homes.
“Battery storage is a critical component to support the responsible expansion of Ontario’s clean and reliable grid that will provide affordable energy to Ontario families and businesses,” said Lecce. “I want to congratulate Boralex and the Walpole Island First Nation community in reaching this milestone achievement which, once connected to the grid, will attract new investments and reduce energy costs for Ontario’s ratepayers.”
Minister Lecce noted it costs less to store energy than it does to generate it.
The storage site was selected by the Ontario Independent Electricity System Operator to help meet the energy capacity needed in the future and to benefit the overall electricity system in Ontario.
Quebec-based renewable energy company Boralex said it has already held multiple open house sessions regarding the project, adding that construction should begin in early October and the facility is planned to begin operating in late 2025.
The Tilbury Battery Storage project will consist of 89 batteries in containers, inverters, medium voltage transformers, gravel internal access roads, buried collector and communication cabling, and a small transmission substation.
The facility will be directly connected to nearby Hydro One infrastructure and will provide reliable power capacity by drawing and storing energy from the grid during off-peak periods and releasing it back to the Ontario grid when energy demand is at its peak.
The project is also expected to provide significant benefits to Ontario’s taxpayers by reducing the need and cost associated with using gas-fired power plants during times of peak demand as well as helping to clean Ontario’s electricity system.
“Our government is working hard to ensure communities have reliable, affordable, clean power to support families and our critical farming, food processing and manufacturing sectors here in Chatham-Kent-Leamington.” said Chatham-Kent-Leamington MPP Trevor Jones. “This important investment by Boralex and the Walpole Island First Nation will improve reliability and strengthen our supply chains, particularly during peak demand periods like our harvest season.”
Boralex noted the Tesla battery megapacks have temperature monitoring on the battery cells to make sure they do not overheat and have a sparker system which prevents the buildup of potentially explosive gases.
The megapacks are monitored 24/7 by Boralex in their control centre in Québec and Tesla has a 24/7 emergency response centre, according to Boralex.
"In cases where the safe operation could be impacted, the affected Megapack will be automatically disconnected,' said Boralex.
The project required municipal approval to go ahead.
