Op-ed: Evolugen, Algonquins explain next steps in BESS process

The following op-ed was submitted by Evolugen senior vice president of development Geoff Wright.

Dear West Carleton community,

Over recent months, our teams at Evolugen and the Algonquins of the Pikwàkanagàn First Nation have had the pleasure of engaging with residents, stakeholder groups and industry leaders on the potential for developing the South March Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) project on Marchurst Road. I am writing to share an update on the project and our next steps.

There is a shared interest in developing a robust, clean and affordable electricity system to meet Ottawa’s rapidly growing power demand – increasing 166 per cent by 2043 in the latest forecast from the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO), twice the provincial growth rate. Building out the grid will reduce blackouts and will support new housing as well as the expansion of our domestic industrial base into high-value, energy-intensive sectors like Artificial Intelligence. The Government of Ontario and the experts at the IESO are committed to expanding our electrical infrastructure through a series of competitive procurements, including the E-LT and LT-1.

These power system investments will help address the ongoing challenges our electricity system faces in matching daily fluctuations in demand with baseload nuclear and hydroelectric generation, which make up the majority of Ontario’s energy supply. The IESO has determined batteries at the right locations are essential to meeting growing system peak demand through the winter and summer months, and selected the projects proposed by Evolugen and AOP as the best solutions for the Ottawa zone. Notably, these proposals came in at the lowest cost: across all of the projects for LT-1 – batteries were less than half the price of natural gas plants.

The South March BESS project has been expressly procured to meet these system needs, and it is being designed to reduce impacts on the local community and natural environment – situated next to an existing high-voltage transmission line and surpassing the City of Ottawa’s requirements; including setbacks far exceeding those adopted by city council earlier this year.

Through the winter and spring, our technical consultants have been conducting preliminary studies and fieldwork that have confirmed suitability of the site and informed preliminary mitigation considerations. These initial findings must now be confirmed through further seasonal evaluations through the summer and autumn, including migration and habitat studies. The results of this analysis will enable technical experts from the city and province to reach informed conclusions on the compliance of project design, and for Ottawa Fire Services and professional engineers to confirm the facility meets the very high standards we expect from our power system infrastructure.

Yesterday (May 26), we submitted a request for a Municipal Support Resolution (MSR) from City of Ottawa Council for the South March BESS. An MSR is meant to demonstrate a municipality’s openness to building new energy resources and its readiness to evaluate project proposals through the city’s robust development approvals processes. An MSR is not a final approval – it is the start of a process. If we are granted an MSR, this will enable us to continue advancing the formal technical evaluations that will inform a final council vote on our site-specific Official Plan Amendment (OPA) application in the future. This will include additional public consultations and further opportunities to engage through the development approvals process.

For project and consultation updates, please visit our refreshed website at: www.GetChargedOttawa.ca, recently improved to make it easier for residents to navigate project information.

We thank you for your ongoing engagement and support, and look forward to working with you on delivering a clean and affordable power grid for the people of West Carleton and the City of Ottawa.

Sincerely,
Geoff Wright,
SVP Head of Development, Evolugen.