IESO chooses battery storage projects over natural gas powered electricity plants

Heather Wright/The Independent

Mayor Jeff Agar dream of St. Clair Township becoming “the gas turbine capital of Ontario” is not going to happen.

The province put out a call for large power projects in 2025, saying Ontario will need 75 per cent more electricity by 2050.

Companies interested in generating some of the 600 megawatts the Independent Electricity System Operator needed, flocked to St. Clair.

The township council supported five different proposals for natural gas-powered electricity plants in the community; Riverside Power Plant, the expansion to the Greenfield Energy Centre, a 250 megawatt plant by newcomer Vogtech Renewables, an expansion at the St. Clair Energy Centre on Petrolia Line, and one Eastern Power. Combined could have generate 1,880 megawatts, if they were approved.

But, June 12, Sam Oosterhoff, Associate Minister of Energy-Intensive Industries, announced three battery storage projects – in Simcoe, Napanee and near Kenora – holding 640 megawatts of energy for use during peak energy needs.

The Ministry of Energy’s news release said the projects “received strong municipal support and include First Nations partners with at least 50 per cent equity ownership, helping ensure direct economic benefits to local communities.”

In a social media post late Thursday, Mayor Agar expressed disappointment that one project in particular – the Riverside Generating Station by Atura, a subsidiary of Ontario Power Generation – would not move forward.

It was to be located on the site of the former Lambton Generating Station which was shutdown by the Liberal government in 2013.

“The Atura proposal was a great fit for jobs, trades and the fab shops in our area,” Agar wrote in a social media post.

“In my mind, it was a good time for our provincial government to make it right after the previous government shut down our coal-fired plant.

“I am very disappointed that a few board members of the IESO said no to this project. They most likely do not have an idea of where St. Clair Township is located. “

Agar continued saying the OPG site “desperately needs to be brought back to life, not only for St. Clair Township but for the county as a whole.”

Agar added he has told the Energy Minister if the province was not going to do anything with the site, they should sell it to St. Clair Township to “have it opened for business very quickly.”

Atura, meantime, thanked the municipal leaders and Indigenous nations which supported the project adding “Atura Power continues to monitor Ontario’s evolving electricity needs and intends to evaluate potential future development opportunities for the RGS project.”

While the province says there will be further calls for more electricity production, the IESO’s 2026 forecast indicates there isn’t an urgent, immediate need.

“Thousands of megawatts of battery storage and natural gas-fired generation have been competitively procured in recent years, meaning Ontario will not have significant incremental capacity needs until the mid-2030s,” the report says.

The forecast also says energy efficiency programs will reduce over all demand by eight per cent by 2050 – about the same amount of power Toronto needs a year.

The IESO forecast says there are now a variety of ways to meet power demands including nuclear projects already underway and the natural gas generation plants are planned to run below capability and can produce more power as necessary.

The IESO is also looking for wind and solar projects to meet demand, calling for new projects for the first time in a decade.