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Why Canada's largest battery project is an energy gamechanger
While you may expect to hear humming, there's almost no sound coming from the site of the recently-opened Oneida Energy Storage project – a plot of land filled with 278 lithium-ion batteries, each one about the size of a tractor trailer – producing 250 megawatts (MW) of electricity.
Located on 10 acres in Haldimand County, Ont., the Oneida project is among the five largest battery storage facilities in the world, producing enough electricity to power a city of 200,000.
'It's a beautiful facility. I had more decibel readings from the birds chirping in the trees than I had from the batteries,' says Christine Healy, president and chief executive officer of Toronto-based global power producer Northland Power. 'It provides a necessary service right where we need it the most.'
Serving the entire province, the batteries pull electricity from the Ontario power grid, holding it in times of surplus and releasing it in times of need. Over its operating life, the facility is estimated to reduce greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions by between 1.2 and 4.1 million tonnes – the equivalent of removing approximately 40,000 cars from the roads.
The Oneida project comes as battery storage is transforming how we manage energy usage, making it cleaner and more reliable by reducing reliance on fossil fuels and strengthening the power grid during times of peak demand. These types of facilities also help contribute to lowering emissions – something relevant to Canada, which has pledged to reduce its GHGs by 45 to 50 per cent by 2035.
The Oneida project more than doubles Ontario's current energy storage resources from 225 MW to 475 MW – a boost that comes amid a broader push to expand energy storage across the province.
In 2024, the Ontario government and Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO), the non-profit overseeing the province's grid, announced they procured an additional 2,195 MW of electricity generation and battery capacity – enough to power 2.2 million homes during periods of peak demand. This includes 1,784 MW of battery energy storage from 10 different projects. It also means that Ontario should have close to 3 gigawatts (GW) of energy storage capacity by 2028, exceeding the government's initial target of 2.5 GW.
Battery storage provides a number of services to the grid, helping to balance electricity supply and demand and ensuring grid reliability and resilience.
'Being able to move energy from times of surplus to times of need is a real asset,' says Vittoria Bellissimo, president and CEO of the Canadian Renewable Energy Association. 'What you need to run a reliable, clean, affordable electricity system is a diversified set of supply resources but also demand resources.'
The Oneida Energy Storage Limited Partnership (Oneida LP) is composed of government, public and private groups that help govern the project – including Northland Power Inc., which holds a 70-per-cent stake, economic group the Six Nations of the Grand River Development Corporation (SNGRDC), energy storage developer NRStor Inc., developer Aecon Concessions and the Mississaugas of the Credit Business Corporation.
Oneida LP works with the Ontario government through IESO and Haldimand County at the municipal level, says Matt Jamieson, CEO and president of the SNGRDC. 'It's a great example of multiple layers of government and organizations working together.'
The SNGRDC and NRStor first formulated the idea for an energy storage facility in 2018 before bringing it to Northland Power, which helped secure financing through the Canada Infrastructure Bank, Mr. Jamieson says. Natural Resources Canada also added a $50-million grant.
According to Northland, the project opened in May and came in ahead of schedule and under budget at $700-million, rather than the $800-million projected in 2023.
Located near the Six Nations of the Grand River reserve, which has a population of nearly 30,000, construction employed 180 Indigenous and Ontario workers at its peak, including 40 from the SNGRDC's construction partner, Aecon Six Nations.
Since its inception, the SNGRDC has invested in renewable energy projects, deploying more than $50-million of equity capital into utility-scale wind, solar and battery projects.
'We always want to stay true to our values as Indigenous people,' Mr. Jamieson says. 'We viewed renewable energy as an opportunity for us to get involved in something that has a net-positive environmental result. You build these assets, and really you're harnessing the power of Mother Earth, the wind and the sun.'
Mr. Jamieson connected Oneida LP with Aecon Six Nations to subcontract much of the site's construction. 'That translates into paychecks, which float back into our community's economy,' he says. 'But even more important, the construction of Oneida really built capacity in our work force. We now have that skill set to be competitive in the market.'
Northland Power CEO Ms. Healy says working with Indigenous partners helped move the project forward and bolster the local economy through employment. 'That level of alignment is the special sauce to make these projects work.'
The SNGRDC currently holds 2.5 GW of electrical capacity through its involvement in 25 renewable energy holdings and has plans to expand.
In December, the SNGRDC and Quebec-based renewable energy company Boralex Inc. announced $538-million for a 300 MW battery storage facility in Hagersville, Ont. It will surpass Oneida as Canada's largest.
Northland Power also just began building Jurassic Solar+, an 80 MW battery storage and solar generation project in Alberta, while Nova Scotia and Saskatchewan have also heavily invested in energy storage.
Now that Oneida is up and running, time is of the essence when it comes to moving forward with Ontario's procured energy storage projects.
'Pace matters. We have to keep developing projects,' says Ms. Healy.
'Capital fundamentally goes where it's treated best and it's a global competition. Canada needs to make sure that we are at the top of everybody's list for where they want to deploy their capital.'
