Most people who pass by this vacant woodlot along Dissette Street in Bradford probably don’t even notice it, but that unremarkable site could become integral to powering the town.
Based on a report from Deputy CAO Mahesh Ramdeo, council supported and Alectra Energy Solutions plans for a battery energy storage system (BESS) in town and approved the option for Alectra to lease two irregularly shaped pieces of town land, during the regular council meeting Jan. 21.
One of those is along the east side of Dissette, north of the Bradford GO Transit station and south of Dominion Farm Produce, while the other is in the Highway 400 employment lands on the north portion of 2423 Sideroad 5, south of Stirling Crescent.
“It’s part of how we’re going to hopefully power Ontario,” Mayor James Leduc said of the proposed battery storage facilities.
Having been at the Rural Ontario Municipal Association (ROMA) conference earlier in the week, the mayor said he took part in a work session about energy storage with the province’s Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) and heard “we’re short on power” throughout Ontario.
That was echoed by Ward 2 Coun. Jonathan Scott who said he had attended a meeting with Hydro One that very morning and understood the town “desperately” needs more electricity for the Highway 400 employment lands.
“Not only am I happy that we’re going to be contributing to solving our own power needs ... We should be looking for any opportunities to generate revenue on town-owned land,” he said.
Deputy Mayor Raj Sandhu agreed, especially regarding the land along Dissette, which he said has been just sitting for “years and years” but can now be useful.
“This is a good win-win situation for us and Alectra,” he said.
According to Ramdeo’s report, staff have been working with IESO and Hydro One for several months to ensure enough power for the town’s anticipated growth, and found BESS to be an effective option by charging overnight when demand is low and discharging into the power grid during the day when demand is high.
Staff have also been working with Alectra, who have experience with BESS in Guelph and Vaughan, to identify suitable locations in town in anticipation of the IESO releasing requests for proposals (RFPs) for energy projects.
For now, council provided their support and granted a one-year lease to Alectra starting Jan. 22. This allows Alectra to provide a proposal to IESO, and if successful, return to council with a site plan and other details. Based on that they are expected to ask council to extend the lease to 25 years.
Despite liking the concept, Ward 4 Coun. Joseph Giordano had concerns with the Dissette location as the town is still in the process of planning the major transit station area, which is expected to bring taller, denser developments to the area surrounding the GO station.
“This is a little cart before the horse,” he said, noting the BESS could also be a fire hazard, with battery fires presenting unique challenges.
In response, Ramdeo assured council that any facility Alectra creates will not prevent nearby development and will need to meet the fire code as well as any other applicable building standards.
The mayor acknowledged the town will eventually need to update equipment and training for firefighters regardless, as battery-powered vehicles become more popular.
“We’ll certainly make sure that that’s covered,” he said.
While he confirmed the batteries in the facility would likely be lithium-based, the deputy CAO also said that from his understanding they are different from those used in electric vehicles and come with “much, much, much, much” less fire risk.