HARRISTON ‒ Minto council has provided municipal support for a Battery Energy Storage System in Harriston but that doesn't mean it's a done deal.
Presented in a new report during a council meeting Tuesday afternoon, councillors unanimously provided their support for sustainable power company Nexus Renewables' proposal to redevelop the Harriston Energy Storage Facility into a Battery Energy Storage System (BESS).
This follows a November delegation from Nexus' CEO Keith Sandor asking council to support his company's application, proposing "just over a dozen" 8x20 foot sea cans stored on "just over" 13-14,000 ft and no permanent employees.
Battery Energy Storage Systems, or BESS, are rechargeable batteries that store energy from different sources, during off-peak hours, and onto the electricity grid when needed while reducing the province's reliance on fossil-fuel generation.
According to the province's Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO), Ontario needs 4,000 MW of new electricity generation and storage resources to support a growing population and economy.
The IESO procured 1,500 MW in late 2022/early 2023 and plans to procure 2,500 MW in late 2023/ early 2024.
There are currently three BESS applications with municipal support in Wellington County, split between Centre Wellington and Minto.
Another BESS facility has its sights set on Guelph/Eramosa but the proposal has not reached council yet.
It's "highly unlikely" that any project will advance without municipal support as it represents 40 per cent of the procurement evaluation process.
Isabel Buckmaster is the Local Journalism Initiative reporter for GuelphToday. LJI is a federally-funded program.
