A subsidiary of Canadian renewable energy investor Brookfield Renewable has submitted a plan to deploy a 161MW/644MWh battery energy storage system to participate in the Ontario grid operator's bid.
Brookfield Renewable's wholly-owned developer and energy asset owner, Evolugen, presented its plans for a Timberwolf battery storage system near the city to the Sault Ste Marie Municipal Council on July 11.
The lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery energy storage project will span 10 acres and be co-located with Evolugen's existing 189MW PrinceWind wind farm. The total investment in the development, construction and commissioning of the project is approximately C$300 million.
The company claims that this will increase the supply of electricity to the local grid and improve the reliability of the supply, while creating local jobs.
The Independent Electric System Operator of Ontario (IESO) is seeking to deploy 1GW of energy storage from 2025 to 2027, while Ontario will retire the Pickering nuclear power station and plan to decommission other nuclear power facilities.
In addition to the projected increase in energy demand, this means that if nothing is done, Ontario's Independent Electric System Operator (IESO) is expected to have a power deficit of between 4GW and 6GW by 2030. As noted in a March blog post by consulting group Power Advisory, the need for additional capacity is expected to begin to emerge from Ontario's Independent Electric System Operators (IESOs) by 2025.
Timberwolf will be one of the larger battery storage projects built in Canada, which has so far fallen behind the US in battery storage deployment. Ontario has massively deployed consumer-side energy storage systems in large industrial facilities and has reduced electricity costs through peak shaving, but grid-scale energy storage systems are limited. Alberta is also starting to see the deployment and development of renewable energy generation facilities and energy storage systems, especially some high-profile projects, but it is still in the early stages.
