Tag Archives: fire

Ottawa Wind Concerns supports West Carleton residents

24 Monday Feb 2025

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Concerns for environment, water supply with proposal for 250-megawatt battery storage system

Source: Stop West Carleton BESS

February 23, 2025

Ottawa Wind Concerns released a statement yesterday expressing support for the residents of West Carleton who are concerned about the potential negative impacts on the environment from a proposed large battery energy storage system or BESS, currently planned for the Marchurst Road area near Dunrobin. The power developer is Evolugen, a division of Brookfield Renewables.

“We share resident concerns about the proposal for a large Battery Energy Storage System on farmland in West Carleton,” said Ottawa Wind Concerns Chair Jane Wilson, in a letter sent to community group Stop West Carleton BESS, one of several opposing the project.

“Like large-scale industrial wind power sites that were forced on rural Ontario communities, the BESS raises concerns about negative impacts on the environment such as the risk of fire, and noise pollution.  

“We echo the concerns of the local OFA in that even classes 4-6 of agricultural land have a role to play in food production and food security for the people of Ontario. 

“The process for the BESS is the same as for wind and solar power installations which features limited public engagement, and the need for communities to approve this significant industrial land use with minimal details provided. “

The West Carleton residents are concerned about the potential for fire, due to multiple battery storage system fires around the world, including several in the U.S. A fire at the three-year-old Moss Landing battery facility in California, which resulted in toxic smoke and the evacuation of residents. The fire has reignited several times. There have been calls for more stringent safety rules for such installations.

In West Carleton, residents are concerned that in the event of a fire, the site would be far from City of Ottawa fire services, and first responders would be volunteer fire fighters, as is the case for most Ottawa rural communities. The chemicals used to fight a lithium battery fire could contaminate the aquifer, which would affect neighbouring farm properties.

Noise from the 250+ containers housing the batteries is another environmental concern.

Residents say they are not opposed necessarily to the battery storage technology, but are asking whether an industrial location close to services like fire would not be more appropriate for this industrial land use. They also note proximity of the site to area wetlands, some of which have been proposed for protection. (See illustration, above.)

The BESS is to be located on farmland currently used for hay, which is part of the food production cycle, says the local chapter of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture, which also supports the West Carleton resident concerns.

In a story presented by CTV News Ottawa today, https://www.ctvnews.ca/ottawa/article/proposed-battery-storage-site-in-ottawas-west-end-raises-safety-concerns-from-residents/ Stop West Carleton BESS representative and local farm owner Courtney Argue said, if there was a fire event and the groundwater was contaminated, “there is no remediation.”

Argue also said Evolugen surveyors were on her farm last month without permission.

Kanata North councillor Cathy Curry told CTV News that there was already a battery storage facility in her ward and that it was operating without problems; however, there are no grid-scale BESS installations in Ottawa. Evolugen proposed another BESS near the Trail Road landfill on land zoned industrial with did get CIty of Ottawa support. The West Carleton project however, has a contract from the Independent Electricity System Operator or IESO to sell power, but it does not have the municipal support resolution which is mandatory for the project to proceed. (See IESO, Section 11 at https://www.ieso.ca/Sector-Participants/Resource-Acquisition-and-Contracts/Long-Term-2-RFP )

The battery storage operators (many of whom also operate wind and solar generation projects and are paid for their power, whether it is needed or not) buy power in times of surplus, store it, then sell it back to the grid operator. In theory, they sell the power at one price, buy it back at a lower price, then sell it again at a higher price when power is needed.

Does battery storage work?

One U.K. analyst says battery storage units don’t do what the promoters say they will. In a video titled “Exposing the battery storage con,” released recently, Paul Burgess says that batteries will provide only minutes of power when needed, as they can only use 60 percent of the power stored. In times of “wind drought” which can last more than a week, he says, the battery power stored will have run out immediately. “It is one hair on a camel’s back relative to what’s required,” he says. Battery storage would not be adequate and will cost billions.

Stop West Carleton BESS currently has the support of the Carleton Landowners, and the Ontario federation of Agriculture, and is one of at least four community groups. A petition to the CIty of Ottawa is available and is approaching 1,000 signatures.

For more information email stopwestcarletonBESS@gmail.com

Former Ward 5 Councillor Eli El Chantiry signs the Stop West Carleton BESS petition at a community “pop up” signing opportunity

https://www.ctvnews.ca/ottawa/article/proposed-battery-storage-site-in-ottawas-west-end-raises-safety-concerns-from-residents/

Ottawa councillor on battery storage: better consultation needed, time to evaluate

17 Friday Nov 2023

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November 17, 2023

West Carleton Ward 5 Councillor Clarke Kelly has published his ward newsletter with a reasonable, well thought out comment on the Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) proposals now before the City of Ottawa.

An excerpt:

Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) 

There has been much talk in our community about Battery Energy Storage Systems, commonly called BESS. Over the last several weeks, I have been made aware of 3 different proposals situated in Ward 5 being brought forward to the IESO for consideration. As I have mentioned in previous statements, I am not opposed to the use of this technology. In fact, I believe that electricity storage will be vital in strengthening our power grid and essential to diversifying our energy sources through renewable energy sources. Last spring, I brought forward a motion that passed and did provide municipal support for a BESS system in our ward. However, the size of that proposed system was very small, being placed at a site that already had a small solar farm, no trees were being cut down, the proponent held multiple public meetings, and no concerns were raised amongst residents in the area. Given its minimal size, the good consultation work undertaken by the applicant, and the lack of public concern, I thought it was an excellent opportunity to see how these systems work and gauge the risks on a small scale.

The applications we are currently looking at are due in early December, yet the applicants waited until the last several weeks to engage with the public. One of the applicants has not held a public meeting or had any communication with my office, so they certainly are not getting my support. The result of these poor consultation decisions is that we are basically out of time to address the numerous and legitimate concerns in a real and meaningful way. At recent meetings, the community had some basic questions around fire safety, direct benefits to the community, the effect on wildlife and wetlands on or around the property in question, and end of life plans for the units. I don’t believe the answers provided had the level of detail, clarity, or certainty required to gain public support and put concerns at ease.

As I have stated, I am not fundamentally opposed to these systems and think the idea of storing power overnight when demand is low and using it during peak demand instead of selling it to the US at a loss is a good idea. But, I also place a lot of value on public consultation and respect for the community in which these companies wish to operate, and given that this technology is relatively new and that there have been serious documented challenges with these projects around the world, my expectation would be that consultation would be meaningful and respectful. In one case, the application hasn’t bothered at all, and in the other two, they clearly missed the mark when it comes to engaging the community and ensuring their concerns are addressed.

I really would like to support one of these projects as I believe in the idea and see the need. I also believe these companies should have come to the table six months ago to be able to answer questions in a detailed fashion and be prepared to present the necessary information and solutions ready to put in place. Many of these groups had not engaged with the Ottawa Fire Services before presenting to the public, and fire is a genuine concern with this technology. They also were astoundingly unable to explain to the community what they were getting in return for having this in their neighborhood or even how the tax uplift would work, given that the site would be taking up only a portion of privately held land. To put it bluntly, all three applicants were unprepared to address the concerns and questions of the community, which gives the sense that public consultation as an aspect of these projects is just a box to tick as part of their standard process. That’s not good enough for the people of West Carleton-March, and any company wishing to get our community’s support, or support from me as Councillor in the future, will come to the community much earlier and much more prepared; otherwise, they can expect the same response.

Not all of the feedback I have gotten about these systems has been negative, and I will soon be meeting with a group of people in our ward who support these systems. I look forward to that and future conversations with the community on how and where we can make these work. I will be supporting a Municipal Support Resolution for a BESS system close to the Trail Road Landfill Site in Ward 21, as will the ward councillor. Residents in that ward feel that it is an appropriate place for a system such as this, particularly in the early days of this technology when comprehensive solutions to the challenges they pose are still being refined and perfected.

So the Councillor is saying, the community has not been given enough time to evaluate the benefits and risks of these projects, and that while we might want to support them, we are simply now “out of time.” Note too that the Councillor echoes the advice we posted earlier this week, when economist Robert Lyman said Ontario needs to pilot a few battery storage projects to see how well they work, how much they cost, and how we can manage any risks associated with them.