Members of Grey County council are expressing concerns about multiple proposals to build battery storage projects in the local region.
The Grey County area has seen four battery storage projects proposed locally. The projects have come forward in response to the provincial Independent Electricity System Operator’s (IESO) call for 2,518 MW of battery power to reduce the energy going offline when the Pickering nuclear plant is shuttered. The deadline for project proposals to IESO was Dec. 12
One of the battery storage proposals is located just south of Owen Sound in the Municipality of Meaford, one in West Grey near Hanover, one in Southgate near Holstein and one just across the county line in Arran-Elderslie in Bruce County.
At county council’s meeting on Dec. 14, local leaders were expressing concerns about the lack of information on these proposed energy projects and the rushed nature of their appearance.
Grey Highlands councillor Tom Allwood – who is also the chair of the Multi-Municipal Energy Working Group – made a presentation to county council at the meeting.
Allwood outlined a number of concerns that have arisen about potential battery plants including:
- Setback policies
- How fire protection would be handled for these kinds of facilities
- Noise emissions
- Lack of information on decommissioning a battery storage facility at the end of its life
- What happens when the ownership of a facility changes
- General servicing and environmental concerns
- Health and safety concerns in the event there is a fire or other incident at such a facility
“Municipalities will be asked to make very substantial decisions with very little information,” said Allwood, who recommended municipalities be cautious if a proposal comes forward.
Allwood suggested there is very little public notice about the proposals. He said that a recent public meeting about the Meaford project (which would be located on the borders of Owen Sound and Georgian Bluffs) was held in Bognor and only 17 people attended.
Allwood said the working group has spent several months researching the issue and is not opposed to battery storage facilities, but is concerned about the lack of information.
“We’re concerned technical guidelines are not in place,” said Allwood.
There are serious health and safety concerns about battery storage plants, Allwood said. He explained large amounts of water would be needed to contain a fire at a plant and they potentially could release toxic gases into the environment.
Members of county council took turns expressing concerns about battery storage energy facilities and ultimately voted to have staff research the issue and provide a full report soon.
Southgate Deputy Mayor Barb Dobreen said her municipality’s experience with such a facility was not a positive one.
She said her council was “rushed to make a decision” on a letter of support for the project.
“We certainly didn’t support the resolution at that time,” she said, noting that the township was asked to support the concept before it had a chance to evaluate the project.
Meaford Mayor Ross Kenter expressed similar sentiments.
“We were rushed into a support letter,” said Kenter. “We had virtually no information.”
Owen Sound Deputy Mayor Scott Greig said his eyebrows were raised about the lack of information about the proposal in Meaford right on the border of Owen Sound. Greig noted that Owen Sound could be required to provide fire protection services to a facility on its border.
“There should be adjoining municipality support on such a project,” he said. “A lot of legitimate concerns have been expressed. The process, as it stands, is unacceptable.”
Scott Taylor, the county’s director of planning, said a full report about the issue would come to county council. He said the report would include details about the approvals process for such facilities, more information on the local projects and how current planning policies and legislation applies.
“There does appear to be a bit of a policy void at the local level,” Taylor noted.
Warden Brian Milne said council would look forward to having more data about the matter.
“Suffice to say, there is a lot more to come on this one,” he said.
