Yogesh Kumar of Nexus Energy made a presentation to Council on June 23rd about the possibility of establishing an energy storage system in Cavan Monaghan.
A Canadian corporation headquartered in Toronto, this company seeks to protect customers from energy market volatility through its subsidiary companies which store energy power from renewable sources during peak energy production and releasing it when energy demand exceeds supply. The currently manages 108MWs of energy across a variety of renewable technologies with 193MWh of energy storage capacity. They have developed seventeen projects ranging in size from one to twenty MW in Ontario, New York, California and Texas.
They explain their local interest broadly, indicating that the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) forecasts an increase in the demand for electricity across the province triggered by increasing population, rising economic growth and increasing demand from specific industries including Electric Vehicles. They note that as the demand for electricity is rising, there will be a short term reduction in its supply due to the refurbishment of nuclear generation plants which takes the temporarily off-line. The proponent indicated that the IESO is seeking an additional 1600 MW of new capacity by 2029 to address this shortfall, and have set a target of securing 600 MW of year-round capacity from long term sources, which would deliver more than 1MW of power for at least eight consecutive hours.
Nexus proposes to establish Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) to help balance the demand for power by charging the system during low periods of demand which can supplement the system when demand rises above its power generating capacity. The firm relies on lithium-ion batteries to support the stability of the power grid during times when the demand for power exceeds the supply. They argue that battery storage systems like theirs reduces the cost of power by reducing the reliance on natural gas and discharging excess energy. Because its power comes from renewable sources the power it supplies reduces the carbon footprint of power use. It also eliminates the need for new transmission lines.
The energy is generated by wind, solar, natural gas, hydro and nuclear sources. Batteries skim off power when the system has excess power, store it and discharge it into the system automatically triggered by a monitoring system that tracks the flow of energy in the grid and optimizes the charging and discharging of batteries connected to the grid.
The proponent was seeking Council’s endorsement of their plan to secure roughly one acre of land on which they would install a battery energy storage system consisting of between 30 to 40 modular, outdoor-rated enclosures roughly the size of a shipping container which would each contain thousands of batteries. The project would also use Medium Voltage transformers and inverters.
The proponent committed to community engagement as required by the regulator and explained in detail its fire suppressant systems designed to address fire hazards associated with the batteries on which the project depends. Mr. Kumar also explained that the firm would provide training to local firefighters to defend against fires of this nature and has liability insurance to protect the community should an accident occur.
Cavan Monaghan Chief Administrative Officer Yvette Hurley interjected at the conclusion of the presentation as Council considered the expectations of the presenter. She advised Council that the municipality had already been approached by other proponents of this kind of project and had asked the regulator to provide more information to Council to help them make informed decisions that support the management of power in the province while protecting the residents of the community from undue risk associated with this new technology.