Latest news with #MattJamieson
News.com.au
a day ago
- Entertainment
- News.com.au
Mikaela Testa's ‘marble mansion' up for rent as crime fears force her out
TikToker Mikaela Testa's $2,700-a-week designer home is up for rent after the controversial online star revealed she feared for her safety while living at the jaw-dropping marble-look mansion. Known as Ruin X, the fully rendered Burleigh Waters property is described as a 'bold showcase of custom luxury' and became an internet sensation when it was put up for auction in March 2022. It was a renovation project by former owner and residential and commercial renderer, Matt Jamieson, of Render X, who crafted bespoke furnishings to match floor-to-ceiling smooth surfaces resembling marble. Designer Jayson Pate was enlisted for the transformation of the 1990-built four-bedroom, two-bathroom home, with features including quirky backlit wall niches, a formal lounge with open fireplace and Timothy Ousten chandelier, and a marble island bench in the kitchen. The Beaconsfield Drive home is listed for rent with Kollosche agent, Tillini Carter. 'Bold and breathtaking, the entire 342 sqm floorplan is a textural triumph that fuses venetian plaster and rendered finishes with the romance of arches and curves,' the listing states. 'Set beneath ceilings that soar to almost 4m in places, it also intertwines subtle Hollywood glam.' Testa is one of Australia's most well-known adult content creators with a TikTok following of more than 3m. Recently making headlines for her bitter feud with fellow creator and former friend Anna Paul, she posted a TikTok video inside Ruin X last month titled, 'my final house tour in Australia'. Testa revealed she was moving to Germany, adding: 'everyone knows where I live'. 'I have packed up my entire house and I am going in two days and I don't plan to ever come back,' she said. 'I love Australia, I think it is one of the most beautiful countries in the world, but it is just not what it used to be. 'The youth crime in this town where I live is so f***ing bad and everyone knows where I live and I don't want to live here anymore. I don't feel safe here.' Michael Jordan-inspired home hits the market Referencing the home's showpiece double arched glass front door complete with bronze snake handle, Testa said she was regularly disturbed by passers-by. 'My door is made of glass so people yell things out and I can hear them all the time,' she said. Other features of the home include a luxurious master bedroom suite with a built-in rendered bed, boutique-style dressing room and bold ensuite with freestanding concrete bath, while outside is a showstopping covered al fresco area with a bar and curved pool complete with rendered diving board. 'The Ruin X party pavilion…sizzles with an exotic Ibizan-style energy,' the listing states. The property last sold under the hammer for $2,713,888 to Melbourne investor Christopher Shao and was subsequently hired as a luxury events and photo shoot space at $4,000 a day by high-profile clients including Chloe Szepanowski and Ashy Bines.
Hamilton Spectator
22-06-2025
- Business
- Hamilton Spectator
Under budget and ahead of schedule, Indigenous battery project shows how Canada could become an energy superpower
NANTICOKE, Ont. — The strong winds that once blew toxic pollution from North America's biggest coal plant over to the nearby Six Nations reserve now turn a forest of wind turbines owned by Indigenous People. With the smoke stacks at Nanticoke long gone , row upon row of solar panels blanket the areas where mountainous piles of coal used to sit. And as of April this year, Canada's largest grid-scale battery project operates a stone's throw away — planned, developed, constructed and owned with First Nations partners. At a time when Indigenous groups across the country are up in arms over federal Bill C-5 and Ontario Bill 5 , which they say bulldoze through their treaty rights to impose high priority development projects, Oneida Energy Storage shows, in the eyes of some, that another way is possible — one where Indigenous communities lead and development is delivered under budget and ahead of schedule . 'Conflict attracts attention. But progress like this is quiet,' said Matt Jamieson, president and CEO of Six Nations of the Grand River Development Corp. Matt Jamieson, president and CEO of Six Nations of the Grand River Development Corporation at the Oneida Energy Storage project in Nanticoke, Ont. Walking amid dozens of rows of colossal white batteries Friday, his words were both figurative and literal. Despite being able to provide 250 megawatts of electricity into the provincial grid — the equivalent of a mid-sized gas plant — the project is virtually silent. And, unlike the natural gas peaker plants they can replace, the batteries produce no emissions. 'It fits within our mandate for environmental conservation, protection and stewardship,' said Warren Sault, president and CEO of Mississaugas of the Credit Business Corporation. Warren Sault, president and CEO of Mississaugas of the Credit Business Corporation at the Oneida Energy Storage project in Nanticoke, Ont. Premier Doug Ford was first elected in 2018 after campaigning against renewable energy, cancelling hundreds of projects and stopping all new investment dead in its tracks. But his government has since seemingly had a change of heart, signing contracts for nearly one gigawatt of wind power and soliciting proposals for more. First Nations such as the Six Nations and the Mississaugas of the Credit River, which partnered on this project, have long been investors in renewable energy, and their experience put them ahead of the curve on recognizing that wind and solar power, because they don't produce electricity around the clock, need to be paired with batteries to achieve their full potential . The batteries charge up on excess power when it isn't needed, like the middle of the night, and pump that electricity back into the grid when demand is high, like on a hot afternoon when people crank up the A/C. 'The hotter it gets, the more the grid needs the power — and it's going to be a hot summer,' said Nick Zsofcsin, head of energy storage at Northland Power, which operates the project. 'We don't charge and discharge fully everyday, but the power is there when you need it.' When Six Nations approached the province to pitch the battery project in 2017, they were met with skepticism, said Jamieson. But after some patient explanation and negotiation, Six Nations and their development partners at Northland and NRStor were able to strike a deal to have the province's first large-scale battery project built, paving the way for an additional 2,800 megawatts of batteries the province contracted last year. 'It took a hell of a long time to convince the province to do this,' Jamieson said. 'But once we did, they turned around and said, 'We need a lot more of it.'' Grid-scale batteries are being installed at a rapid pace around the world, with 11,000 megawatts installed globally in 2022, a 75 per cent increase over the previous year. With all the batteries in the pipeline, Ontario is set to become a leader, though it still trails California, which has the world's most battery storage with more than 15,000 megawatts online. The Oneida project has a 20-year contract, guaranteeing a long-term stable revenue stream for the nearby community on the Six Nations reserve. The Mississaugas of the Credit were brought in so they could benefit, as well. The gleaming rows of batteries resemble an oversized outdoor change room, with little brass locks hanging off locker doors. Behind each door, there are 336 battery packs. With 24 lockers to a megapack and 278 megapacks on site, that's more than 2.2 million batteries all together, each one individually monitored and isolated for safety. The project has more storage capacity than 13,000 Tesla Model Ys, which is a good measure because the batteries themselves are manufactured by Tesla. Strategically located to feed power into the high-voltage transmission lines that used to connect the Nanticoke coal plant to the grid, the batteries also power the nearby Imperial Oil refinery and the Stelco steel mill, two of the province's largest users of electricity. About 40 of the 180 construction jobs were filled by members of the Six Nations, who were able to take their expertise up the road as soon as they were done to start work on an even bigger battery project in Hagersville, which is slated to open before the end of the year. At a time when legislation is being passed at the provincial and federal levels that assumes Indigenous people will be an impediment to development, Jamieson says the Oneida battery project shows how First Nations-led projects can be the key to achieving the goal of making Canada an energy superpower. 'I understand why government actors want to accelerate these large infrastructure projects, but they can't simply do it at the expense of Indigenous voices,' he said. 'Interestingly enough, we were the ones pushing them to move forward on this infrastructure project and now it's become a key component of the energy market in Ontario.'
Canada Standard
13-05-2025
- Business
- Canada Standard
Oneida Battery Project, Canada's Biggest, Goes Online Ahead of Schedule, Under Budget
Canada's biggest battery energy storage system went online ahead of schedule and under budget last week, on a patch of industrial land just a few kilometres from the Six Nations of the Grand River in Ontario. The 250-megawatt/1,000 megawatt-hour project in Haldimand County is co-owned by the Six Nations of the Grand River Development Corporation (SNGRDC), Northland Power, NRStor Inc., Aecon Concessions, and the Mississaugas of the Credit Business Corporation, all operating through the Oneida Energy Storage Limited Partnership (Oneida LP). It was originally priced at $800 million in 2023, but ultimately came in at $700 million, Northland Power said. "With 278 lithium-ion battery units now officially drawing and storing power from Ontario's electricity grid, Oneida LP will receive fixed capacity payments through a 20-year capacity services contract with Ontario's Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) and generate revenue from energy sold into the Ontario electricity grid, as well as from providing ancillary services to the system," SNGRDC said May 7. View our latest digests "Originally developed under a 50/50 partnership between SNGRDC and NRStor Inc., the Oneida Energy Storage facility serves as a model for meaningful partnerships, prioritizing Indigenous involvement in the development of clean energy in Canada," the development corporation added. The project more than doubles Ontario's energy storage capacity from 225 to 475 MW, will eliminate 1.2 to 4.1 megatonnes of climate pollution over its operating life, "and will support more efficient operation of traditional assets like gas and nuclear while furthering growth of renewable energy sources like wind and solar." The Oneida installation is now about 70% owned by Northland Power, the company said. The project received "significant funding" from Natural Resources Canada and the Canada Investment Bank and employed more than 180 Indigenous and Ontario workers during peak construction, including more than 40 through Aecon Six Nations, a majority Indigenous-owned firm. "Oneida Energy Storage achieving commercial operation is symbolic to us on many levels," SNGRDC President and CEO Matt Jamieson said in a release. "As a foundational partner we are especially proud to play a lead role in introducing grid-connected energy storage to the Ontario energy market. Not only does the project create value for Ontario ratepayers and our community, our involvement highlights the importance of Indigenous partnership and inclusion-it exemplifies what can be accomplished together." "Our partnerships-first approach to energy projects with Indigenous Peoples really enabled the Oneida vision to become a reality and also resulted in a true Canadian success story which serves as the model to replicate moving forward," said NRStor Chair and CEO Annette Verschuren. "Today is a significant milestone for NRStor, our project partners, the Ontario government, and Canada's clean energy future." "Oneida represents a pivotal step in our strategy to develop and operate battery storage facilities," said Northland Power President and CEO Christine Healy. "Delivering this project ahead of schedule and under budget is a clear demonstration of Northland's capability to execute large-scale energy projects safely and effectively." Last month, Energy Storage News cited Oneida as the "flagship" for nearly three gigawatts of battery storage that will be going into service in Ontario. It says the IESO will account for about 60% of the project's revenue. On LinkedIn, Royal Bank of Canada Senior Vice-President John Stackhouse described Oneida as "a really big deal" that "may soon become a model for big demand users (hello, data centres) as they explore options." Source: The Energy Mix
