TC Energy has announced plans to continue to advance planning for the Ontario Pumped Storage Project (OPSP) in Meaford along with its prospective partner Saugeen Ojibway Nation.
Ontario’s Minister of Energy has directed the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO), on next steps related to the project.
TC Energy expects the OPSP on Georgian Bay in Meaford will cut greenhouse gas emissions while providing clean, reliable and affordable energy to power Ontario homes and businesses. The company will begin to work with the Ministry of Energy and the Ontario Energy Board (OEB) to establish a potential long-term revenue framework for the project, and report to the Minister by July 31, 2024.
Pumped storage uses water and gravity, acting like a giant battery. TC Energy wants to pump water from Georgian Bay to an upper reservoir when electricity demand is low, typically at night. When electricity demand is high, typically during the day, the water flows from the upper reservoir to Georgian Bay, passing through a turbine, releasing energy back into the system to be used as electricity.
A release from TC Energy stated the project is a made-in-Ontario solution which will be designed, engineered, and built by a domestic supply chain. Construction of the system would create 1,000 unionized jobs and over 75 per cent of the total materials and supplies will be provided by Ontario-based companies. Future capital allocation decisions will align with TC Energy’s net capital expenditure limit of $6-7 billion post-2024. Construction for the OPSP would start later this decade and begin service in the early 2030s, subject to receipt of regulatory and corporate approvals. The project remains subject to the approval of TC Energy’s board of directors and Saugeen Ojibway Nation.
“The Minister’s direction to advance this Project is a strong signal that the work TC Energy and Saugeen Ojibway Nation are doing is important,' said Annesley Wallace, Executive Vice-President, Strategy and Corporate Development and President, Power and Energy Solutions, TC Energy. "It recognizes the critical role that pumped hydro storage will have in enhancing the diversity of Ontario’s supply mix and achieving a net-zero electricity grid.”
“The Minister continues to acknowledge that electricity development will only be successful with the participation and leadership from Indigenous Nations," said Conrad Ritchie, Chief, Saugeen First Nation and Gregory Nadjiwon, Chief, Chippewas of Nawash Unceded First Nation. "The Ontario Pumped Storage Project is a long overdue energy initiative with real benefits for the Indigenous people of the land.”
Meantime, the Save Georgian Bay Association counters that the proposed project will not reduce carbon levels in the earth’s atmosphere. In fact, the association's research concluded a net increase in carbon emissions when all factors are considered.