South March BESS heads to ARAc June 5

WEST CARLETON – A group opposed to the proposed Marchurst Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) facility led by the company Evolugen, say they are ready to battle the project after finding out it will be on the Agriculture and Rural Affairs committee (ARAc) agenda next week (June 5).

Today (May 27), the Stop Marchurst BESS group hand delivered a petition of more than 1,320 names opposed to the project to the West Carleton Community Complex in Kinburn, and there, Ward 5 Coun. Clarke Kelly received it on the city’s behalf.

“We know it’s in good hands and appreciate all your advocacy,” Courtney Argue, a leader of the project opposition, told the councillor.

Kelly says tomorrow’s (May 28) council meeting will be the first step in the process of determining if the Marchurst BESS will receive a Municipal Support Resolution, critical for the project to move forward.

“A council colleague is going to refer (the issue) to ARAc,” Kelly said at today’s petition drop off.

From there, the issue will head to the June 5 ARAc meeting scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. at Ben Franklin Place (101 Centrepointe Dr.). ARAc will discuss the issue with city staff and public delegations before voting on a recommendation to council to either approve or reject the Municipal Support Resolution. Following that meeting, City of Ottawa Council will make the final decision on whether to give the Marchurst BESS project a municipal support resolution or not during the June 11 council meeting.

A Municipal Support Resolution is required for Evolugen to go ahead with the next steps for its project to build a 250-megawatt capacity BESS facility off Marchurst Road in the South March area. The proposed project is in the feasibility stage and consists of “installing battery modules; some additional power equipment; and light civil, safety, and security infrastructure.”

It is expected to be operational by 2027.

The project is expected to occupy 10 acres on private land using lithium iron phosphate batteries stored in roughly 230 Sea Cans with fire suppression and heat monitoring equipment inside the steel containers.

The province’s Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) approved the project last year under the condition Evolugen get a Municipal Support Resolution from the City of Ottawa for the BESS, as municipalities are responsible for siting approval. The Marchurst BESS is the only BESS project in Ontario to be approved without a support resolution, and IESO changed the parameters of its BESS request for proposal process now requiring all future BESS projects to already have a support resolution in place at time of application.

West Carleton Online has covered the project for going on two years in detail including several interviews with people representing both sides of the issue, and you can find that complete coverage here.

“There will be a number of asks over the next couple of weeks,” Argue told her group of volunteers following the petition delivery. “We need people to speak at the June 5 meeting. We know this process has been detrimental to a lot of voices. It will be a horrible day.”

Earlier today, Stop Marchurst BESS released a statement on the latest development.

“ Residents of Ward 5 are raising the alarm over reports Mayor Mark Sutcliffe plans to arrive at the city council meeting tomorrow (May 28) to support a Municipal Support Resolution for a 250-MW BESS on rural land, before environmental and safety reviews are complete and without full public consultation,” South March resident and community crisis representative Leigh Fenton, who is one of the representatives of the organized opposition to the project, released in a statement today (May 27).

Fenton and the Stop Marchurst BESS group says Evolugen hasn’t done its due diligence for the project.

“The proposed BESS project, led by Evolugen, a subsidiary of Brookfield, would be located adjacent to a provincially significant wetland, in a residential rural area overlying a vulnerable aquifer,” Fenton said. “The community is calling the move a breach of procedural standards that threatens both environmental integrity and public trust. A project of this magnitude cannot be rushed through council before the Notice of Completion has even been issued. This isn’t just bad planning, it’s a dangerous precedent.”

Fenton says the Stop Marchurst BESS organization feels the approval process has been flawed.

“The Environmental Assessment process has already drawn sharp criticism,” she said. “Evolugen and their consultant, Stantec, issued a Notice of Commencement on March 25, which failed to outline alternative locations (this is the second location Evolugen has proposed originally considering a site in the Fitzroy Harbour area); assess impacts to groundwater or fire safety; or define a clear consultation framework. More than 1,300 handwritten petition signatures have been submitted in opposition, alongside dozens of formal objections and an official elevation request under the Environmental Assessment Act. Residents are participating lawfully, respectfully, and in large numbers. This is precisely when a mayor must resist orchestrated lobbying and reinforce confidence in evidence-based decision-making.”

Sutcliffe previously stated his commitment to rural inclusion and good governance, saying in 2022, “I’ve never used strong mayor powers, and I don’t intend to. You should not feel like people at city hall are deciding how you should operate your farms or live your lives or that your unique needs are being overlooked.”

The Stop Marchurst BESS group feels Sutcliffe is not living up to his words.

“Community members are now asking whether those commitments are being upheld,” Fenton said.

The group is urging the mayor to delay any support motion until:

• The Class Environmental Assessment is formally complete;
• All environmental and fire safety studies are publicly released;
• Residents are given structured opportunities for input; and
• Council receives a full and transparent debate on the matter.

“We are not seeking preferential treatment,” Fenton said. “We’re asking the regulatory process function as it was designed: transparently, consistently, and free from corporate interference.”

While the Stop Marchurst BESS group thought the request for a Municipal Support Resolution would not come until fall, they were prepared if that was not the case.

“Evolugen had been telling us their proposal would be going in this fall,” Argue said. “We felt that might not be true.”

Argue, who is getting married in four days, says after battling all of this year, she is invigorated by the work.

“It feels good,” Argue told West Carleton Online of finally submitting the petition. “It’s been a lot of work. I don’t think people recognize that. There are a lot of people involved in that, and I want to thank them. It shows what our community can do when things matter.”

While the next couple weeks will be a major milestone for the issue, Argue says it is not the finish line.

“A lot of work ahead,” Argue said. “It could be our final stretch, or it might not be. We’re not going away. We’re advocating for our community and four our land. It feels good.”