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Contracts awarded for Canada’s largest battery energy storage projects
22/5/2024
News
Ontario’s electric grid operator, the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO), has awarded contracts for what will be the largest battery energy storage projects (BESS) in Canada, at 390 MW and 380 MW. However, they could soon be overtaken by a proposed 500 MW project that is slated to come online in a similar timeframe.
Located in Edwardsburgh Cardinal, Ontario, the 390 MW Skyview 2 lithium-ion BESS is being developed by a subsidiary of Potentia Renewables and the Algonquins of Pikwakanagan First Nation. Due onstream in 2027, the project is to enhance Ontario’s electricity grid stability and reliability, charging during off-peak hours and redistributing the stored energy back into the grid at peak times.
The IESO has forecast a need for 4,000 MW of BESS capacity by 2030. According to its latest planning outlook, Ontario’s total electricity demand is expected to increase by 60% over the next 25 years.
Neoen subsidiary Shift Solar also secured a 20-year contract from IESO, for its new 380 MW BESS near the town of Arran-Elderslie, Ontario. The project is slated to come online in early 2028 and will be the largest BESS in Neoen’s portfolio.
However, a 500 MW BESS project has been proposed in Napanee, Ontario, which is reportedly due to come online in a similar timeframe. The Quinte Energy Storage Centre project would be developed by Potentia Renewables, based on Hydrostor’s advanced compressed air storage (A+CAES) technology.
New Japanese BESS platform
Meanwhile, New York-based investment firm Stonepeak and CHC, a BESS project development and electricity data management company based in Singapore, have announced the creation of a platform focused on the development of BESS projects in Japan.
The new platform has been awarded a 20-year fixed revenue capacity market contract for four BESS projects as part of the Japanese government’s inaugural long-term decarbonisation auction.
The platform will initially target 1 GW of BESS projects in Japan over the next five years, supporting grid stability and reliability as the country moves towards its carbon neutrality by 2050 goal. Speaking at COP28, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida reported the country was on track to reducing emissions by 46% by 2030 (relative to 2013 levels), having already cut emissions by approximately 20%.