Latest news with #Evolugen
Ottawa Citizen
3 days ago
- Business
- Ottawa Citizen
Massive Battery Energy Storage System project sparks controversy at Ottawa committee meeting
Article content More than 60 speakers lined up Thursday to speak to the City of Ottawa's Agricultural and Rural Affairs Committee over a proposal to build a vast electrical storage facility in West Carleton. Article content The subject of the marathon meeting was a $650-million Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) pitched for a parcel of land on Marchurst Road about one kilometre from Thomas A. Dolan Parkway, southwest of Dunrobin. Article content Article content Article content Brookfield Renewable Power Inc., through Evolugen, a Canadian company, was seeking a Municipal Support Resolution (MSR) to help clear the way for the project. Article content Article content Essentially, a BESS is a massive collective battery — in this case a lithium ion battery — to store electricity and distribute it as needed. The proposed property totals about 81 hectares of land. The electrical storage system would occupy about four hectares, with an additional six hectares used for an access road, a stormwater management pond and a substation. Article content Proponents for the project argued that the project was part of the solution as Ontario grappled with increased demand for energy. The BESS and others like it would add capacity and allow for flexible operation of the electrical grid as well as reducing greenhouse gas emissions because BESSes reduce the need for power plants during times of peak demand. Article content Article content 'Our members have delivered dozens of projects just like this one that you are considering today, safely and reliably,' said Andrew Thiele, senior director of policy and government affairs with Energy Storage Canada, which represents about 110 members. Article content Article content 'Ottawa is in fierce competition with tech hubs around the world to attract talent and capital that empower Canadian businesses to thrive in these rapidly evolving sectors,' Thiel said. 'Often one of the most important concerns raised by our prospective members is that there is a continued and growing need for clean power.' Article content But there has been a firestorm over the project. Residents say they were surprised to learn about the proposal and the speed at which it had moved forward. City council rejected another proposal from Evolugen for a similar facility near Fitzroy Harbour last year.
CBC
4 days ago
- Business
- CBC
Rural councillors deny support for battery facility, as company seeks 'clear political signal'
Rural councillors rejected a second attempt by Gatineau-based company Evolugen to win support for a large battery facility in rural west Ottawa, after 68 people weighed in over the course of a nearly 10-hour meeting Thursday. Members of the city's agriculture and rural affairs committee voted unanimously to deny the company official backing for the project, though city council will have the final say next week. The company has already won a contract to build the facility from the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO), a Crown corporation responsible for managing Ontario's energy market. Now, it needs a statement of support from Ottawa councillors. West Carleton-March Coun. Clarke Kelly, whose ward would be home to the new facility, said he heard a clear message from residents. "I feel like it's overwhelmingly against the project," he said in an interview. "I think even more specifically — against the project proposed in the location where it has been proposed." That location is an approximately 4.5-hectare plot of rural land off Marchurst Road — roughly the area of eight Canadian football fields — located about 30 kilometres west of downtown Ottawa. Evolugen, a Gatineau-based renewable energy company owned by Brookfield Renewable, is seeking to build a battery energy storage system (BESS) at the site. BESS facilities are large batteries housed in containers that store renewable energy and feed it back into the grid at off-peak hours. The process to receive city council support for projects has proven difficult, though not impossible, with an Evolugen BESS in Coun. David Brown's ward garnering the unanimous backing in late 2023. The technology is a key part of the Ford government's plan to solve a looming energy supply crunch, as demand in the province is expected to increase by 75 per cent by 2050. But for many residents, the location of this particular battery trumped any broader provincial picture. 'Devil's bargain' Across the dozens of people who spoke at the meeting, views were mixed. Speakers representing business interests in the Kanata North tech park said companies there have "extreme needs" for power, and a local family-run construction company said building the facility would create good jobs. Members of the Algonquins of Pikwakanagan First Nation, which is partnered with Evolugen on the project, called on the city to support Indigenous-led investment. But most speakers were vehemently opposed. A petition against the project garnered more than 1,400 hand-written signatures. Loss of farmland and the risk of fire or well water contamination were the most common concerns. Courtney Argue, one of a large contingent donning matching t-shirts that read "Stop Marchurst BESS," lives about 400 metres from the proposed site. "We are David vs. Goliath here. We have been stripped of our voices to fight this," Argue said, breaking into tears. "We need you [councillors] to be loud and courageous to reject this [motion]. Our lives and our lands are depending on it." Another speaker, Brian Martin, said he and other residents aren't afraid of the technology but are opposed to building on what he considers to be an ecologically sensitive location. "This is the devil's bargain," he said. "They get all the gold, we get all the risks." Company seeks 'clear political signal' Evolugen is taking a second crack at winning support in the area. The company previously tried to sell residents on a similar project that would have been built south of Fitzroy Harbor, about 13 kilometres away from the current site. That project also faced intense community backlash, and the company later said its attempt at garnering support had not gone well. The new site, according to the company, has fewer trees and does not encroach on wetlands. Crucially, it sits on a connection to the grid. And this time around, Evolugen said it has redoubled efforts to win over locals. "We've knocked on, I would say, almost every single door within two kilometres of the site," said Geoff Wright, senior vice-president of the company. "We've had a number of conversations with people at their door. We've sat at peoples' kitchen tables." Wright is now asking the city to endorse the project and send a "clear political signal" of interest. Pressure from province The renewed bid for support comes shortly after Ontario Energy Minister Stephen Lecce sent a letter to Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe warning that slowing down BESS projects endangers growth. The letter asked the city to "promptly review and approve" the projects, specifically singling out the South March BESS. On May 25, the mayor's office received a letter from Evolugen seeking support, just days before a walk-on motion to council waived procedure and drastically accelerated the approval process. Kelly pressed Wright on that timeline in a tense exchange during the meeting. "Cutting that process short left my community in a difficult spot to prepare for today," he said in an interview. "The message to my residents — so far in this process — is that provincial policies and the whims of provincial ministers and the IESO are more important than my residents' voices." The committee unanimously approved a motion by Kelly asking city staff to request that Evolugen pays at least $250,000 per year into a community development fund for at least 20 years, should the project go ahead. The issue goes to city council on June 11.
Miami Herald
12-05-2025
- Business
- Miami Herald
BluWave-ai and Evolugen Sign Project for Energy Storage Autopilot AI to maximize performance of Grid-Scale Batteries
With 4GW of Battery Storage Planned for the Ontario Grid, AI is Seen as a Key Enabler for Maximizing the Lifetime Operations of Grid-Scale Batteries OTTAWA, ON / ACCESS Newswire / May 12, 2025 / BluWave-ai and Evolugen today announced an initial project to run the BluWave-ai Energy Storage Autopilot™ to automate operations of grid-scale batteries using AI awareness of current grid dynamics and evaluate performance of an AI approach. The project will apply AI techniques to maximize the value and efficiency of battery assets in the City of Ottawa. This partnership will explore the BluWave-ai Energy Storage Autopilot™ to support operations of Evolugen's 400 MW of battery energy storage systems (BESS) to better integrate real-time, wholesale grid information, including carbon intensity, demand forecasts, and impacts from extreme weather events. The project will analyse parameters like current load, pricing, renewables content, as well as the rolling horizon within the day and day-ahead, and composition of these parameters to maximize the use of energy storage capacity in the grid. The partnership leverages previous BluWave-ai global live grid AI deployments in India, Japan, UAE and Canada Developed by Evolugen, a subsidiary of Brookfield Renewable, the BESS projects were contracted by the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) in 2024 as part of the Government of Ontario's procurement of nearly 3,000 MW of energy storage to meet the province's 75% electricity demand growth through 2050, with the City of Ottawa's demand forecast to double by 2045. "These projects are a major investment in power supply and reliability for rural Ottawa and all of Eastern Ontario," said Geoff Wright, Senior Vice President of Development at Evolugen. "We are proud to partner with a local Ottawa company to ensure that we can maximize efficiency of existing infrastructure and deliver the high quality of power that all residents deserve." "Canada is the only country in the Western Hemisphere with all the raw materials required for a lithium-ion battery, with Ontario already being a key producer in nickel, cobalt, and copper," said Stephen Lecce, Minister of Energy and Mines for the Government of Ontario. "It's why our government has introduced legislation to accelerate mining approvals to ensure technology partners have the necessary minerals to create made-in-Canada battery storage, enabling operators like BluWave and Evolugen to deploy AI-powered management systems to drive our economic growth." The project is leveraging made-in-Canada technology with an all-Canadian partnership for an initial deployment in the national Capital to service the regional grid as well as local users, including the rapidly growing Kanata North Technology Park - home to BluWave-ai and one of Canada's largest AI clusters. "The collaboration between BluWave-ai and Evolugen by Brookfield is a powerful example of how Canadian innovation can accelerate the creation of a smarter, greener energy future," said Sonya Shorey, President and CEO, Invest Ottawa. "Leveraging our existing project with BluWave-ai at Area X.O, our R&D complex for next-gen smart mobility, this project demonstrates how AI solutions developed by homegrown founders can be safely tested, validated, and deployed with national leaders to drive real-world impact. We are proud to support this milestone as we work together to grow Canada's economy, accelerate commercialization, and advance a more sustainable planet-led by Canadians, for Canada and the world." "Intuitively, there is an industry tendency to believe that grid-scale batteries may charge overnight when grid loads are low and generally pricing is lower. However, the parties acknowledge that grid operations will change dramatically over time with the onboarding of grid scale batteries and EVs. This is significant as16GWh of battery storage daily load and 6 GWh of EV daily load from 400,000 EVs is projected to hit Ontario grid in less than 5 years," said Devashish Paul, CEO and founder of BluWave-ai. " This adds 22 GWh of load typically charging in 8 hours overnight roughly adding 3GW per hour to the nightly load of the Ontario grid, creating new overnight peaking dynamics as such AI enabled automation and data driven operation of batteries will be instrumental moving ahead." As of May 1, 2025, the IESO market renewal program is live, introducing Locational Marginal Pricing (LMP), similar to California's approach, which brings dynamic fluctuations in the economic value of energy that must be managed through data-driven strategies. Built on BluWave-ai's AI-driven energy optimization platform, BluWave-ai's Energy Storage Autopilot™ can meet the need for automated BESS optimization in the electrical system from transmission connected to front-of-the meter and behind-the-meter industrial batteries. In this initial project the focus is on transmission connected BESS and associated optimization. The Energy Storage Autopilot is grid-aware and serves as a communication layer, enabling basic BESS software to adapt and operate automatically based on real-time data. It automates the process of submitting energy bids to market operators. By analyzing market conditions and forecasting prices, it can place bids in wholesale markets that maximize revenue and minimize costs, ensuring that the BESS participates effectively. BluWave-ai brings its suite of 33 Patents filed of which 23 are Pending and 10 are granted, embedded in three key product lines to enable grid-scale battery deployments. To learn more about BluWave-ai Energy Storage Autopilot, please visit: To learn more about BluWave, please contact info@ About BluWave-ai Founded in Canada in 2017, BluWave-ai is building the premier AI company for the global energy transition, headquartered here in Canada's capital of Ottawa. BluWave-ai is focused on driving the proliferation of renewable energy and electric transportation, working with electricity utilities, independent power producers, system operators, vehicle fleet operators, grid-connected and off-grid enterprises. AI-enabled SaaS software is applied to the hardware of clients to optimize their cost, carbon footprint, and the reliability of renewable (and non-renewable) energy sources in real-time. Backed by global investors, BluWave-ai has raised over $16M to date, inclusive of a $9.5M Series A round. About Evolugen Based in Gatineau, QC, Evolugen is the Canadian development and operations arm of Brookfield Renewable, owning and operating 62 renewable energy facilities across the country with a total installed capacity of 1,954 MW. Brookfield Renewable is a world leader in clean energy with an operating portfolio of over 45,000 MW of capacity, including 850 MW of operating BESS and 2,200 MW of BESS under construction. SOURCE: BluWave-ai
