Company eyes former Paris landfill for battery storage project

A proposed battery storage project at the former Paris landfill would supply enough energy onto the grid each year to meet the needs of more than 15,000 homes, according to the company behind the plan.

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The battery project storage system would connect to an existing transmission line on Powerline Road at Cleaver Road.

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Quebec-founded renewable energy company Boralex announced intentions recently to submit a proposal to Ontario’s Independent Electrical System Operator (IESO) to create a battery storage project on the county-owned brownfields south of Railway Street, between Nith Road and Broadway Street West.

The announcement came after councilors passed a resolution to lease the approximately 15.5 acres of land to Boralex — through Brant Municipal Enterprises (BME) — at an Oct. 24 council meeting.

If the bid is successful, the County of Brant would have its own smaller version of Hagersville’s Battery Energy Storage Park — another Boralex project — within the next five years, according to company spokesperson Shelby Dockendorff.

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According to site plans, a buried line would connect the storage system to an existing transmission line about six kilometers away on Powerline Road at Cleaver Road.

Unused energy collected from the electrical grid at off-peak hours would be stored in lithium-ion batteries, housed above-ground in units like shipping containers.

Dockendorff told The Spectator the excess energy would otherwise be “sold to other jurisdictions for a reduced price or curtailed toward wind, solar or natural gas.”

By storing it to use during peak times, it helps to create a more stable and reliable grid, according to Dockendorff.

For locals, this could mean a reduction in costs associated with using gas-fired power plants during times of peak demand, she said, “which can help reduce energy bills.”

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It was BME, a municipally owned corporation, that approached Boralex as part of a strategy to bring renewable energy projects to the county, acting CEO Adam Crozier told The Spectator.

With an anticipated capacity of up to 100 MW, the local project is about one-third of the capacity of the Hagersville project.

In the new year, Boralex and BME will find out if their proposal is approved.

If approved, construction is expected to begin shortly after, and would bring around 100 construction jobs to the county, according to Crozier.

Community members are invited to attend an open house on Nov. 16 hosted by Boralex at the Brant Sports Complex to ask questions and learn more about the project.

More information about the project and open house is available at boralex.com/projects/brant/.

Celeste Percy-Beauregard is a Local Journalism Initiative Reporter based at the Hamilton Spectator. The initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.

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