Project proposed near Wyoming

Blake Ellis/Local Journalism Initiative

There is another battery storage power project in the works for Enniskillen.
And this time, the company and the family planning to host the site want to give the municipality plenty of time to consider it.

Compass Energy Consulting is proposing to construct the battery storage unit on 20 acres of the south east corner of 4703 Churchill Line, a property owned by Rita and Tony Felder. It’s on the outskirts of Wyoming near Oil Heritage Road.

The company is expects the power storage unit will be able to hold between 200 and 300 megawatts of hydro, but won’t know for certain until Hydro One says the available line capacity in mid September.

Compass Energy and owners of the Churchill Line property plan told council Aug 21 they plan to come to Enniskillen council Sept. 18 to talk about the project.

It’s clear the company is aiming for a longer, more transparent process than the last proposed battery storage project.

At a meeting last February, Oil City residents crowded into the council chambers to register their overwhelming disapproval of the proposed construction of a battery storage facility on Courtright Line near Oil City. Many said they weren’t aware of the project until reading an article in The Independent about the proposal.

Many were concerned how close the site was to Oil City.

At the time, council decided not to give its endorsement of the project. Without that, the Ontario Energy Board would not consider it.

While its not clear when this year the province will be asking for new proposals for energy storage in southern Ontario, Compass Energy President Jonathan Cheszes was clearly trying to get ahead of the announcement and secure the municipality’s support early.

Cheszes said after the presentation is made to council on Sept. 18, company officials would be door knocking on properties, which are within two kilometres from 4703 Churchill Line, which will include some homes in Wyoming. He hoped to have door knocking conducted on Sept. 19 and 20.

Resident will be asked to attend an open house in October and Cheszes hoped Council can make a decision by early November on whether it approves of the project.

If council gives its approval, the township will negotiate an agreement with the company for such things as road maintenance, noise, lighting and a community benefit component.

Council members advised Cheszes to not use bulk mail when sending out the invitations to the open house to residents.

This was done for the Oil City open house and many say they were not notified properly, because the invitations were seen as junk mail. Instead the invitations should be addressed to each residence.