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CTV News
13-06-2025
- Business
- CTV News
West-end residents unhappy as battery energy storage facility gets council support
A sign at the corner of Marchurst Road and March Road, opposing the proposed South March Battery Energy Storage System project. June 12, 2025. (Dylan Dyson/CTV News Ottawa) Residents in the Dunrobin area are not happy after Ottawa city council confirmed it support for a battery energy storage system (BESS) in the community. Gatineau-based energy company Evolugen says the site will be located at 2555 Marchurst Rd. and 2625 Marchurst Rd., and will be roughly 200 acres in size, with the batteries taking up roughly 11 acres of that. The batteries will store energy during off-peak hours, which will be used when demand is high. 'We moved here because we wanted to have a nicer home for our family,' Marchurst Road resident Jade Charlebois told CTV News Ottawa. 'We have two kids now and the thought of just having the battery plant so close by is just a little unnerving.' 'I don't agree with that in this area,' adds Marchurst Road resident Glenn Carroll. 'This is farming land here; it's a farming community. There's no spot for an industrial facility. It's protected wetlands. There's all kinds of wildlife in there that could be harmed or pushed out of the area because of noise and light pollution. If there's a fire, God help us, water pollution, smoke, toxic gases, everything.' But despite concerns from residents and a recommendation by the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee to reject the proposal, city council voted 20-3 in favour of supporting the project on Wednesday. In a statement, Evolugen said, 'The resolution represents a significant milestone for the project, which Brookfield Renewable has been actively developing over the past several months, in equal partnership with the Algonquins of Pikwàkanagàn First Nation.' A proposal for a similar project to be located 13 kilometres away in Fitzroy Harbour was rejected last year by council. Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe says the province is putting pressure on municipalities to push projects like this BESS through. 'To some extent, you know, I think some of us at the city feel like the process is forced on us too, because this is a provincial jurisdiction,' he says. Evolugen says if approvals go according to plan, the site is expected to be complete by 2027.
Canada Standard
12-06-2025
- Business
- Canada Standard
Update: Ottawa City Council Backs Rural West Battery Project on 20-3 Vote
A proposed 250-megawatt battery storage installation in Ottawa's rural west won a resounding vote of confidence Wednesday as Ottawa City Council approved a municipal support resolution (MSR) for the project on a 20-3 vote. Just six days earlier, the city's Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee (ARAC) had unanimously rejected the Marchurst Battery Energy Storage System (BESS). But after that vote, The Energy Mix reported exclusively that project supporters expected a closer margin at council-with the possibility that at least two ARAC members would change their votes. In the end, that's exactly what happened, with only ward councillor Clarke Kelly (West Carleton-March), ARAC Chair David Brown (Rideau-Jock), and councillor Wilson Lo (Barrhaven East) voting against, CTV reports. "Energy is the new gold," said councillor Cathy Curry (Kanata North), who moved the motion in favour of the MSR. Curry cited the city's light rail expansion, acquisition of electric buses, and moves to electrify its own vehicle fleet as factors driving up local demand for electricity. The motion stressed that an MSR is "not a planning approval, and if approved would not commit Council to any future land use decisions with respect to the facility," CTV writes. In a statement, Gatineau, Quebec-based Evolugen, the subsidiary of Brookfield Asset Management that proposed the project, called the MSR approval "a significant milestone for the project" and acknowledged the "thoughtful engagement and consideration demonstrated by council and staff throughout this process." View our latest digests Evolugen already had a contract from Ontario's Independent Electricity System Operator to build the project on a 4.5-hectare site, about 30 kilometres west of downtown Ottawa, conditional on an MSR from the city. After the vote, the company pledged to "continue working closely with city staff, local residents, the public at large, and other stakeholders to ensure transparency and collaboration as the project moves forward." On Wednesday, Kelly said the voices of Ottawa's rural residents were being ignored, CTV writes. "The community most impacted by this installation has reached out in overwhelming numbers to demonstrate they remain uncomfortable with what is being proposed and where it is being proposed," he said. "If West Carleton was its own municipality, this project would not get an MSR for this location." But at least two ARAC members with large numbers of rural constituents changed their votes at council, after initially opposing the municipal support resolution in committee. At the 10-hour ARAC meeting last Thursday, councillors heard 68 public delegations before denying official backing for the project, CBC reported. But while the ARAC vote "was unanimous at face value," some committee members were "very conflicted", a committee observer told The Mix , with one councillor comparing the introduction of battery storage to the arrival of the motor car in a horse and buggy community. "I believe that BESS is a good technology, and this, on its merits, may actually be a good project," said Councillor Matthew Luloff (Orleans East-Cumberland), according to a segment of an unofficial meeting transcript viewed by The Energy Mix . While Luloff said his committee vote was meant to respect Kelly's wishes, as a vehemently opponent of the project in his ward, "I reserve the right to make my own decision at Council, where this matter will come forward again for further discussion." Luloff added: "I will be taking the lessons I learned here today at that vote. Let this also be a lesson on consultation, it is not a box to be checked but a fundamental part of decision-making. Community education is incredibly important, and we must continue to do better... in how we inform." After the ARAC vote, Angela Keller-Herzog, executive director of Community Action for Environmental Sustainability (CAFES), said the community adjacent to the Marchurst site "needs to come together" in order to negotiate with Evolugen for local benefits from the project. But at the moment, "avowed opponents... distrust information offered up by the project proponent company," she wrote in an email. "The anti-BESS group is talking about 'raising pitchforks' and the local Facebook group ejects anyone who has positive things to say about the project." [Disclosure: CAFES is a partner of the Green Resilience Project , a joint community listening effort hosted by Energy Mix Productions and the Basic Income Canada Network.] The Energy Mix could not verify the content of the private West Carleton BESS Facebook group. Courtney Argue, a leading project opponent who lives about 400 metres from the site, said "it really depends" how visitors are treated when they join the group. "People get deleted if they are being disruptive or we have a suspicion that they have ties to Evolugen or their potential or confirmed partners," she told The Mix in an email. "You try your best. Sometimes you get it right and sometimes you get it wrong." As for the comment about pitchforks, "we hold our pitchforks in our hearts when it comes to protecting our land, wildlife, and way of life," Argue wrote. "Rural folk are not violent folk. We handle things together. We show up in the masses at town halls, we help neighbours. In this fight, we cannot leave any stone unturned." While the group is meeting neighbours who support sustainable energy solutions-Argue said she'd "love to add solar to our farm to help sustain our operations"-she maintained that most of the people she's heard from oppose the BESS project. Keller-Herzog said the local community newspaper, West Carleton Online, which has covered the issue extensively over the last two years, recently estimated that "the community was pretty evenly split but that the anti-BESS voices consistently tried to present a picture as everybody against." In spite of the furor and the "significant coverage" it has received, "there is probably a majority of busy working families that are not tuned in to the local news and have no engagement on the issue," she said. "The real problem? Our community lacks a calm and credible space to talk things through," Keller-Herzog wrote in a mid-May opinion piece for West Carleton Online. "Many thoughtful West Carleton residents, who might offer balance or ask good questions, have simply gone silent, understandably reluctant to wade into a conversation that has become conflictive and dominated by a few loud voices." Prior to Wednesday's vote, she said Evolugen "now appears hesitant to engage further, perhaps understandably, given how strident the misinformation has become." Yet there are "other BESS conversations that affirm of course residents and businesses in Ottawa want the lights to stay on, want the grid to be stable, want power to be affordable, want the jobs, investment, taxes paid and local community benefits from a safe, non-polluting energy infrastructure solution." In an email Tuesday morning, Evolugen's Canadian head of development, Geoff Wright, told The Mix the company is "eager to move to the next phase of the development approvals process and submit our application for a fair and robust technical evaluation by city and provincial staff. We believe that review by independent, qualified experts will provide the comfort that residents are looking for, while taking into account the benefits that this infrastructure provides for the city, region and province. Source: The Energy Mix
CBC
11-06-2025
- Business
- CBC
Contentious rural Ottawa battery facility gets nod from council
City council has thrown its support behind a contentious battery facility in rural west Ottawa, after rural councillors rebuffed the same appeal last week. At a Wednesday meeting, councillors voted overwhelmingly to support the proposal from Evolugen, a renewable energy company based in Gatineau, Que. The company is seeking to build a Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) on a 4.5-hectare plot of rural land off Marchurst Road, about 30 kilometres west of downtown Ottawa. "My residents now see that we are kind of the guinea pigs," said West Carleton-March Coun. Clarke Kelly, whose ward will be home to the project. "[Rural property] is where we're going to put these projects to bolster regional economic development — and I think that's where you'll see some resentments from rural residents." But councillors who spoke in favour of the project cited the rapidly growing energy needs of Ottawa residents and businesses, as well as the potential for the technology to help wean the city off fossil fuels. Kanata North Coun. Cathy Curry said the project plays a crucial role in everything from fighting climate change to stimulating economic development. "Energy is the new gold," she said. 'Significant milestone,' company says BESS facilities are large batteries, housed in containers, that store energy generated at off-peak hours to be used when demand is higher. They are useful for storing renewable energy, as they allow customers to access power that's been generated by wind turbines and solar panels, even when winds aren't blowing or the sun isn't shining. The Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO), a Crown corporation responsible for managing Ontario's energy market, had already granted Evolugen a contract to build the facility. But the company, which is equal partners with the Algonquins of Pikwakanagan First Nation on the project, needed the official blessing of council to move forward. In a written statement, Evolugen called Wednesday's vote "a significant milestone." "The company is grateful for the thoughtful engagement and consideration demonstrated by council and staff throughout this process," the statement read. The company declined an interview request, even though a group of representatives was present at the meeting. Evolugen must still go through "comprehensive technical studies," according to the city, including a detailed site plan and assessments for noise, safety and environmental impact. Fire chief reassures residents Councillors discussed the issue before a gallery that featured a small contingent of opponents wearing matching t-shirts that read "Stop Marchurst BESS." "We will rally," said Courtney Argue, one of the dissenters, after the decision. "It's proving over and over again that rural voices aren't heard." The company was on its second attempt at pitching the project to neighbouring residents, who showed up in large numbers to a rural affairs meeting last week. Of the more than 60 people who spoke at the nearly 10-hour meeting, most voiced staunch opposition to the project. The loss of farmland and the risk of fire or well water contamination were the most common concerns. More than 1,400 people signed a hand-written petition against the project. But Ottawa Fire Services Chief Paul Hutt said his team will consider Evolugen's detailed proposal when it comes and develop emergency plans for safety and fire suppression. "In the event that there is an incident, we're going to have it all pre-planned before that time," he said. Curry also struck a reassuring tone. "The consultation will now begin," she said. "There is a lot more to come on this. This is the beginning, not the end." The final vote was 20-3 in favour of the project. Along with Kelly, Barrhaven East Coun. Wilson Lo and Rideau-Jock Coun. David Brown also voted against it.
CTV News
11-06-2025
- Business
- CTV News
Ottawa city council throws support behind rural battery energy storage facility
Ottawa city council overturned a unanimous rejection of a municipal support resolution (MSR) for a controversial battery energy storage system (BESS) in the South March area. Last week, the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee voted unanimously to recommend council reject the support resolution for the Evolugen project on Marchurst Road following a marathon meeting that heard from dozens of public delegations opposed to building the project in that location. Issues such as the ability for emergency services to reach the site in the event of a fire, how to evacuate nearby residents, and concerns about possible contamination to the local water table were raised. On Wednesday, however, city councillors voted overwhelmingly in favour of granting the municipal support resolution, following a motion by Kanata North Coun. Cathy Curry, seconded by Capital Ward Coun. Shawn Menard. Councillors voted 20 to 3 in favour of granting the municipal support resolution. The only councillors who voted against were Wilson Lo, David Brown, and Clarke Kelly. Coun. Tim Tierney was not present for the vote. The project was initially pitched for Fitzroy Harbour, but council denied its support. It was later moved 13 kilometres away to the South March area. Ontario's Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) granted Evolugen, a Gatineau-based company, a contract to build the facility, but according to Curry's motion, the company must provide proof of municipal support to the IESO before Jan. 26, 2026, in order for the project to proceed. The motion notes that a municipal support resolution is 'not a planning approval, and if approved would not commit Council to any future land use decisions with respect to the facility.' Curry said the BESS project would make the city's grid greener and provide economic benefits to Ottawa. 'Energy is the new gold,' she said, noting that demands on the electrical grid will come from a variety of sources, including the expansion of LRT and the electrification of OC Transpo's bus fleet and of City of Ottawa vehicles. The motion also notes that the Province of Ontario, the IESO, and local hydro utilities 'have recognized and affirmed the critical role that battery energy storage systems will play in ensuring energy certainty and reliability as electricity demands in the Ottawa Region will continue to exponentially grow over the next twenty years.' West Carleton-March Coun. Clarke Kelly, in whose ward the facility would be built, said the voices of Ottawa's rural residents are being ignored. 'The community most impacted by this installation has reached out in overwhelming numbers to demonstrate they remain uncomfortable with what is being proposed and where it is being proposed,' he said. 'My community is not a bunch of NIMBYs or rural residents who are resistant to change. We understand that for a multitude of reasons, we must diversify our sources of energy and strengthen our grid with technologies such as battery energy storage.' Kelly said while residents had concerns about the proposal, they were not opposed to the facility itself. 'I will never accept that what has occurred here over the last two weeks was in any way appropriate or acceptable,' he said. 'When we talked at the first rural summit in 16 years about making sure that rural voices were heard, this is exactly what we were talking about. If West Carleton was its own municipality, this project would not get an MSR for this location.' As part of the process, council approved a direction to staff to ensure that Evolugen establish a 'Community Development Fund' by entering into a host municipality responsibility agreement with the City of Ottawa, through which it would provide an amount of at least $250,000 per year if the project proceeds. Mayor Mark Sutcliffe told reporters the city is under pressure from the provincial government to approve projects like this. 'The provincial government provides the opportunity for a municipal support resolution but the provincial government also makes it clear that it wants to see these kinds of projects go ahead, so it puts us in an uncomfortable position of having to be a part of a process over which we don't have the ultimate jurisdiction and maybe in long run, it would be better if these decisions were made at the provincial level,' he said. 'Having said all that, this is neither the beginning nor the end of the process. Going forward there will be more hurdles that will need to be crossed before this goes ahead and there will be public consultation as well.' If all regulatory approvals go forward, completion of the site is expected by 2027. Evolugen's website says the facility will provide benefits to the community, including grants for local organizations, job opportunities for residents, and reduced energy costs.
Ottawa Citizen
11-06-2025
- Business
- Ottawa Citizen
Dunrobin resident finds prior 'misconduct' by engineer on new battery project
An engineer who presented safety data about battery energy storage systems to the city's Agricultural and Rural Affairs Committee last week had his registration with a professional body yanked in February after he 'admitted that he demonstrated professional misconduct.' Article content Stephen Ramsay, an engineer with a PhD from Cambridge University, spoke to the committee on June 5. He was one of 60-plus speakers with a five-minute time slot to address a controversial proposal to build a six-hectare battery energy storage system (BESS) facility on Marchurst Road near Dunrobin. Article content Article content Article content Brookfield Renewable Power Inc., through Evolugen, a Canadian company, was seeking a Municipal Support Resolution (MSR), an instrument introduced by the provincial government to gauge a municipality's interest in building new energy projects. Article content Article content BESSes are needed as Ontario grapples with increased demand for energy, say proponents of the $650 million project. But one of the most contentious issues around BESSes, which use lithium-ion batteries to store electricity during off-peak periods in order to release it during peak demand periods, is the possibility of fire. Article content Ramsay told the committee he was speaking on the scope of the work that was done by Calvin Consulting in support of the Evolugen application. Article content 'We were responsible for modelling the consequences of potential fires from the BESS facility and the consequences in terms of the emission of hazardous gasses, particularly focusing on hydrogen fluoride,' said Ramsay. Article content Article content BESS Systems have transitioned to ones that use the LFP chemistry, which is used in the current application, he said. (LFP batteries are also known as lithium iron phosphate batteries.) Article content Article content 'This is a process which has occurred over many years during which we have been actively involved in this aspect of BESS projects,' Ramsay told the committee. 'The motivation for this, of course, was to try to improve the safety by reducing the incidences of thermal runaway and the consequences resulting from fires.' Article content In response to questions from Orléans East-Cumberland Ward Coun. Matt Luloff asking him to simplify his comments, Ramsay responded: 'Basically what we're saying is that as we've changed from the old chemistry, which seemed to be essentially inherently dangerous, to the one which is LFP, which we are beginning to see is much, much safer.'
