Toronto, ON – December 9, 2024 – Today the Ontario Energy Association (OEA) and Energy Storage Canada (ESC) released From Small to Mighty: Unlocking DER’s to Meet Ontario’s Electricity Needs. The report recommends a policy and regulatory framework aimed at enabling the widespread adoption of Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) across the province. Such a forward-looking strategy would maximize benefits for electricity customers through affordability, bill savings, and enhanced resilience; for the electricity grid through improved reliability; and for economic and environmental benefits through emission reductions.

A Framework for DERs in Ontario

The vision emphasizes empowering Ontario residents and businesses to manage their energy costs through DERs, such as rooftop solar panels, battery energy storage systems (BESS), and demand-response technologies. By leveraging DERs, the province can enhance affordability, grid reliability, and emissions reductions.

“To most efficiently meet Ontario’s future energy needs requires us to modernize our policies, regulatory framework and electricity grid to accommodate and integrate distributed energy resources (DERs),” said Vince Brescia, President & CEO, Ontario Energy Association. “The framework put forward today provides one key element of a customer-centric, scalable, and environmentally responsible approach to meeting some of Ontario’s growing energy demands.”

“Energy Storage of all types and durations is going to be critical to meeting the future needs of Ontario’s electricity system and this absolutely includes leveraging the value energy storage systems can provide as DERs,” said Justin Rangooni, President & CEO, Energy Storage Canada. “Ensuring the alignment of procurement and planning to enable DERs, enabling DERs’ full participation in IESO markets & procurements, and modernizing the province’s policy and regulatory frameworks will ensure we are utilizing the full range of benefits DERs can provide the grid to increase affordability, flexibility, and reliability in the electricity system.”

Toronto, ON – On the evening of October 8, Energy Storage Canada (ESC) recognized five leaders and innovators in the Canadian energy storage sector as part of their third annual, Energy Storage Canada Awards. Awards were distributed as part of the first evening of their two-day annual Energy Storage Canada Conference, the only national energy storage conference in Canada, which is going into its ninth year.

The first Board of Directors-selected award this year recognized Ontario Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) as the 2024 Friend of Energy Storage Award recipient. The Board emphasized the IESO’s consistent and early engagement with industry stakeholders, since 2012, to provide a viable pathway for energy storage to contribute to the province’s energy grid. Pilot projects and advisory boards over the course of several years culminated one of the largest energy storage procurements in North America, and the largest in Canada to date with over 3000 MW of energy storage procured.

Second, the Board jointly recognized Matt Jamieson, CEO of Six Nations of the Grand River Development Corporation and Mark B. Hill, former Chief of Six Nations of the Grand River, current Principal Partner with Rezolve Strategies for the 2024 Pioneer in Energy Storage Award. Both were early proponents and partners in Canada’s first large-scale battery energy storage projects with 50/50 ownership for an Indigenous or First Nation Community in Canada with the Oneida BESS project. Their articulation of the value of the project and their collaboration with their community led to developing and finalizing a first of its kind partnership for energy storage that can serve as a template for equal partner projects in the energy storage industry across Canada.

“We’re in our third year of recognizing the innovation and leadership of Canada’s energy storage sector,” said ESC Executive Director, Justin Rangooni. “Each year we’re seeing more projects announced, more development taking place, and more awareness of the potential of energy storage to contribute to Canada’s future grid across the country. We’re excited by the opportunity to recognize the incredible work that is being done.”

First of this year’s nominated awards, the 2024 Energy Storage Milestone Award, recognized Canadian manufacturer, Invinity Energy Systems, for the recent milestone completion completion of an expansion of their manufacturing facility in British Columbia, which will now have capacity to produce 200MWh of vanadium flow batteries annually. The completion will support the growth and expansion of the energy storage market, contributing to the timely and reliable delivery of products for project development. Second to be recognized was Rodan Energy Solutions, recipient of the 2024 Landmark Application of Energy Storage Award, for the unique integration and implementation of a battery energy storage system (BESS) plus uninterrupted power supply (UPS) system for a glass manufacturer in Collingwood Ontario. The double conversion system which augments the system’s reliability, and the containerized form of the solution which facilitates scalability, make this application of technologies unique.

Climate action and the energy transition will be a hot topic in the upcoming British Columbia election campaign. Former cabinet ministers, a past party leader, industry and energy experts in BC are coming together to support Energy Storage Canada’s election platform for all political parties and candidates.
 
“B.C. is a proud leader in climate action,” says former B.C. Green Party Leader and climate scientist Andrew Weaver. “Energy storage is essential to maximizing the ability of renewable energy, and building out renewable energy is essential to climate action.”
 
“Energy Storage Canada members are at the forefront of the energy transition and need government to ensure that BC's electrical grid remains reliable, renewable and affordable with diverse energy storage resources,” says former B.C. New Democrat energy minister, Michelle Mungall who is now the Senior Advisor for BC Initiatives at Energy Storage Canada. “Our plan lays out concrete actions any government can take so that British Columbians will continue to rely on clean renewable electricity well into the future.”
 
Energy Storage Canada has six recommendations for immediate action that will unlock the full benefits energy storage has for B.C.’s electrical grid and economy. The next government will need to make legislative, regulatory and permitting changes to ensure proper siting and infrastructure development while also implementing tax credits and skills training to grow this important industry.
 
Capacity procurement at BC Hydro will be necessary to both support peak demands and maximize existing transmission infrastructure. This type of investment reduces long term system costs and helps to keep rates low.
 
Also critical will be increased funding for the BC Indigenous Clean Energy Initiative so that remote and indigenous off-grid communities can meet provincial goals in transitioning from diesel power to renewable energy plus storage.

“BC has a generational opportunity to unlock economic activity across the Province as we build our energy system,” says Colleen Giroux-Schmidt, Vice President Corporate Relations at Innergex and Board Chair at Clean Energy BC. “ We recognize the critical role that Indigenous Peoples play in facilitating and advancing the clean energy transition.”

 
"British Columbians want clean, renewable energy sources, and electricity demand is growing fast,” states Dan Woynillowicz, Principal of Polaris Strategy and Insight and former member of the government’s BC Hydro Task Force. “To meet this demand the next government needs to ensure diverse storage resources are part of a program to keep the lights on and rates low.”

Please find the full details of Energy Storage Canada's election platform here.

By Kristyn Annis
Chair, Energy Storage Canada
Partner, Border Ladner Gervais, Toronto

February 19, 2024

The last three years have seen utility-scale energy storage systems proliferate in Canada like never before. A recent white paper published by Energy Storage Canada, the nation’s leading industry organisation for all things energy storage, concluded that anywhere between 8,000 MW to 12,000 MW of energy storage potential would optimally support the net-zero transition of the Canadian electricity supply mix by 2035. In addition to helping jurisdictions meet their net-zero goals, energy storage is key to increasing grid reliability, efficiency and resiliency.

In Canada, which is a federation, the ten provinces have constitutional jurisdiction over energy that is within their respective borders. As the industrial revolution took hold, the provinces put in place Crown corporations to manage the provinces’ respective electricity grids. In British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Quebec, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island, the Crown continues to own the provincial vertically integrated utility, meaning that transmission, most distribution, and generation are centrally managed, with some involvement of independent power producers. This allows provincial governments to execute on provincial energy policy expeditiously in ways that legislative authority cannot. While the degree of control exerted by the provincial government with a vertically integrated Crown corporation is almost absolute, provinces with an open market also continue to exert a high degree of control over the energy sector as a manner of provincial policy.

Ontario

Ontario is Canada’s most populous province with more than one third of the country’s population. The province has approximately 38,193 MW of installed capacity,[1] with summer peaks that range from 21,000 MW to a historical high of 27,005 MW.[2] In Ontario, the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) is responsible for managing the electricity sector. The IESO delivers key services including managing the power system in real-time, planning for the province’s future energy needs and enabling conservation. The IESO takes direction from the Minister of Energy, which is generally issued by way of letter.

After at least a decade of surplus energy and relatively flat demand, the IESO now predicts a steady average increase of net energy demand of two per cent year-on-year, culminating in a 208 TWh demand in 2043, for a total increase of 60 TWh and summer peaks forecast to reach 31,500 MW.[3] Driven by electrification of certain sectors of the economy, increased economic activity, population growth and the retirement and refurbishment of Ontario’s nuclear facilities, which provide more than half of Ontario’s baseload power, the IESO predicts a capacity shortfall in the mid-2020s.

To help meet this shortfall, the IESO has initiated a series of procurements, and stated their intent to issue future procurements well into the 2030s. The IESO’s very public signal to the market that it intends to carry out continual procurements is a game-changer for the marketplace and the energy sector in Canada. Such transparency enables developers to plan their investment pipeline, thereby optimising assets, use of capital and creating efficiencies in the energy buildout. The IESO also broke ground by focussing on energy storage in its recent procurements. Storage has a unique role to play in the electricity sector, acting as both load and supply, and capable of providing a host of grid reliability services. These services are commonly referred to as ancillary services and include grid regulation, reactive support and voltage control services, reliability must-run and black start capabilities. Utility-scale storage is optimised by charging during off-peak hours (when the grid is powered primarily by nuclear and hydro in Ontario and therefore low-emitting) and injecting energy back into the grid during peak hours.

Given Ontario’s need for capacity (ie, MW available to provide energy when needed, as opposed to energy into the grid), the IESO focussed their first and second procurements on filling this need. The IESO issued the largest storage-based procurement in Canada in February 2023 with the Expedited Long-Term 1 RFP (the ELT1). The ELT1 resulted in a total of 739 MW of utility-scale storage being procured, with in-service dates in 2026.[4] The weighted average price for successful proponents was approximately CAD836/MW. The ELT1 also included a non-storage category for natural gas-fired power stations. Notably, the IESO failed to meet the capacity it had allocated for ELT1 in the non-storage category and only two gas plants ended up with a contract. The weighted average price for such resources was more expensive than storage, at CAD1,093/MW. In addition to the ELT1, the IESO contracted with a private developer (comprised of an Indigenous partner and non-Indigenous partner) for the Oneida Battery Storage Project, which will add another 250 MW (1000 MWh) of battery storage by 2025. With only 54 MW of storage currently installed in the Ontario grid, the ELT1 alone represents a 434 per cent increase in Ontario’s future storage capacity.[5]

The IESO initiated the Long Term 1 RFP (LT1) on the heels of ELT1. The LT1 is intended to procure competitively up to 2,518 MW of year-round capacity services, of which 1,600 MW are targeted to be procured from energy storage facilities, and 918 MW are from natural gas facilities. The target for natural gas facilities includes the leftover capacity from ELT1. The bid submission deadline was 12 December 2023 with contract awards expected to be announced in May 2024. The IESO is currently seeking comments on the design of Long Term 2 RFP (LT2), which is expected to focus on energy (MWh) rather than capacity, to compliment the additional storage capacity that is coming online from ELT1 and LT1.

Utility-scale storage is increasing in the rest of Canada as well, especially when considered in relative terms to the current assets online in each province…

By Justin Rangooni
Executive Director, Energy Storage Canada
February 7, 2024

After years of consistency, in the next three decades, Ontario’s energy sector and its electricity grid are expected to undergo a substantial transformation, which, of course, leaves a lot of room for innovation. While all types and technologies of energy storage are seeing substantial innovation in their composition and application, long-duration energy storage (LDES) is perhaps seeing more than others because there are far fewer instances of LDES assets having been deployed or connected to major grids, apart from pumped hydro.

LDES for the future

Yet, long-duration storage technologies are poised to be one of the critical technologies supporting the changes to Ontario’s grid as the province, like many regions, prepares to secure two or three times its current generating capacity and meet its ambitious decarbonisation goals. Changing the blend of resources supplying energy to the province, with an emphasis on non-emitting resources – including renewables like wind, solar, and hydro, new grid-scale and small modular nuclear assets, and emerging resources like hydrogen and geothermal – is going to be a major challenge. As we electrify heating and transportation, the frequently simultaneous demand for charging EVs or powering heat pumps is going to drive unprecedented levels of peak electricity demand that will compound the strain on our power grids.

As Ontario brings on more generation capacity and electricity demand reaches new levels, the province will require a greater variety of energy storage resources to ensure Ontario has the power it needs, when it needs it. Long-duration assets – broadly defined as assets capable of discharging energy for a period of ten or more hours – will be a key component of this mix. In fact, a recent report commissioned by Energy Storage Canada (ESC), and prepared by Dunsky Energy & Climate Advisors, identifies a minimum of six gigawatts (GW) of +10-hour duration energy storage starting in 2032, could mitigate potential supply, planning and deployment risks and achieve savings between $11bn–$20bn compared to Ontario’s current transition plans.

Policies to back it up

Fortunately, in recent years the Government of Ontario worked closely with the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) to adopt an ambitious approach to regulatory and market reforms to enable the deployment of energy storage resources (ESRs). The province achieved a major milestone last summer with the IESO’s procurement of over 880 MW of energy storage capacity, the largest in Canada – and as the initial stage of an ultimately 2,500 MW addition, one of the most ambitious such initiatives anywhere in North America. A 2022 report commissioned by ESC indicates the province could need as much as four to six gigawatts (GW) of short-duration storage – generally defined as assets capable of discharging energy for six hours or less – as part of Ontario’s path to net zero.

Energy storage resources (ESRs) are important for Ontario’s future grid because they can all, regardless of duration, intake power during times of high generation, store it, and then discharge that power to the grid at periods of high demand. This alleviates stress on the system and reduces costs. ESRs comprise a wide range of technologies, durations, and lifespans, from familiar hydroelectric dams to lithium-ion batteries and a wide array of emerging designs like compressed air and molten salt. These assets will be essential in reducing incidences of surplus baseload generation (SBG) – moments when the province’s power resources are generating more than can be consumed or economically exported – ensuring that electricity can be used to power the province’s growing, energy-intensive industrial and natural resources sectors. These grid-scale batteries will also act as ‘Non-Wires Alternatives’ (NWAs), relieving transmission constraints at a fraction of the cost – and time – of constructing traditional poles and wires expansions.

Collectively, batteries and other energy storage resources are helping reduce the need for natural gas-fired generation capacity and accelerating the pace at which the province can achieve an emissions-free power system. Most energy storage resources are also capable of supporting the provincial grid during extreme weather events, including ‘black-start’ functionality that can bring the lights back on in the event of a system-wide power outage. However, as Ontario brings on more non-emitting generation, particularly intermittent resources (such as wind or solar), and peak demand reaches new levels, the province will need a more substantial inventory of LDES resources to ensure its grid continues to be reliable when the wind isn’t blowing, and the sun isn’t shining.

Energy Storage Canada’s report is the first to go beyond speculating the potential use cases for LDES technologies to research the potential scope of investment for Ontario as the province decarbonises, with new modelling from Dunsky Energy & Climate Advisors, which illustrates the specific advantages that investment in LDES assets can provide.

Challenges ahead

Using the IESO’s Pathways to Decarbonization (P2D) study from December 2022 as a baseline, Dunsky analysed the likeliest risks in those scenarios, quantifying the cost of falling short in our planning, procurement, construction, and import objectives compared to the alternative cost of procuring LDES assets. Evaluating the technical readiness and value proposition of LDES as a ‘guardrail’ for Ontario’s economic growth and decarbonisation journey, Dunsky found that a minimum of six GW of LDES capacity would be economically beneficial starting in 2032.

However, compared to most short-duration energy storage technologies procured in Ontario to date, LDES technologies generally have long lead times for development, meaning that to ensure the assets are available when we need them, we need to start planning now. Again, Ontario is making progress ahead of many other regions in acknowledging the importance of looking ahead if the province is to capitalise on LDES technologies. Last month, the province’s Minister of Energy, Todd Smith, issued a letter to the IESO instructing them to continue working with proponents of the province’s most advanced LDES initiatives, the pumped hydro 1,400 MW Meaford and 400 MW Marmora projects.

As Dunsky’s report makes clear, the development of these two projects should just be the start of a much larger capacity addition over the next decade. As the province’s grid undergoes a massive transformation and modernisation in the coming decades to meet its energy needs, integrating new assets in new ways, the importance of pursuing innovative solutions and technologies, such as long-duration energy storage, will become increasingly important. While 2032 is eight years away, the time to act is now.

What needs to be done

To that end, Energy Storage Canada is calling on the IESO to make a formal commitment this year to initiating a procurement process in 2025, with a six GW target. Critical factors such as the availability of Canada’s Clean Technology Investment Tax Credits (ITCs) for projects completed prior to 2032, the extensive lead time necessary for prospective proponents to develop positive relationships with Ontario municipalities, to develop equitable and beneficial partnerships with the province’s First Nations communities, and secure supply chain commitments in a competitive global market, all demonstrate the need to begin the process now.

Energy Storage Canada and our members look forward to continuing the work with the Ministry of Energy and the IESO to further develop the innovative research related to long duration energy storage, and all storage technologies. The integration of LDES has the potential to build on Ontario’s energy storage advantage, ensuring the province continues to have a reliable, sustainable, and flexible energy supply in the decades to come.

By Anthony Capkun

February 6, 2024

A new report released by Energy Storage Canada (ESC) illustrates “the substantial potential of [long duration energy storage a.k.a. LDES] to contribute to the realization of the [Ontario]’s economic growth and energy transition objectives”.

Conducted by Dunsky Advisors, “Long duration storage opportunity assessment: a critical component in growing Ontario’s clean energy economy” suggests that deploying up to 6 GW of LDES starting in 2032 could be a cost-effective solution to mitigating potential supply, planning, and deployment risks on Ontario’s pathway to net-zero.

“[…] Ontario is already recognized as a national and global leader in energy storage,” said Justin Rangooni, ESC’s executive director, adding that the Independent Electricity System Operator “needs to capitalize on that momentum and continue future-proofing our energy system by making a clear commitment to procuring cost-saving [LDES] resources.”

As a group of technologies, ESC says LDES will play a critical role in decarbonizing Ontario’s existing supply and scaling up non-emitting generation by integrating intermittent renewables, hydroelectric and baseload nuclear, while providing a source of reliable capacity during low-generation, high-demand periods.

The report finds LDES can help protect against potential development risks and vulnerabilities in IESO’s “Pathways to decarbonization” scenarios while optimizing the performance of small modular reactors (SMRs), grid-scale nuclear, blue and green hydrogen assets, and other emerging resources.

To allow for long lead times, the report encourages IESO to commit to a competitive LDES procurement by 2024, and launch a competitive process in 2025.

“Accelerating the development and deployment of long duration energy storage offers the best pathway to full decarbonization for Ontario, Canada, and the world,” said Julia Souder, CEO, LDES Council.

Two Saturday evenings ago, something unprecedented happened in the Province of Alberta. Provincial residents received an emergency alert notification asking them to conserve electricity use as Alberta’s electricity system, operated by the Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO), was in a level 3 grid alert. Extreme cold, which brought with it low wind, combined with a few unanticipated outages from natural gas generators, left Alberta on the cusp of relying on load shedding to maintain the stability of its grid. Just before the emergency alert was sent out, the last resource keeping us going was energy storage.

Please bear momentarily with some technical details. Energy storage resources are grid-connected assets, such as batteries, that can take in energy at one time—charging—and give it back at a later time—discharging. This storage ability has different uses, but most simply it lets us store energy from times of low demand and use it at different times of high demand. Just like power lines let us move energy across space, energy storage lets us move energy across time. Most other supply chains, like fossil fuels, agriculture or even simply product manufacturing have long used storage in the form of storage tanks, grain elevators, or warehouses. Storage allows these supply chains to be optimized and avoids the complexities and difficulties of needing to supply products in real time to directly match demand.

While lithium batteries, similar to the ones in our phones, laptops, and increasingly EVs, are the bulk of contemporary energy storage installations, energy storage can take many other forms, such as pumped hydro, compressed air, thermal storage, flow batteries, and more.

Returning to the emergency alert on January 13, in the hours leading up to it, storage was playing a critical role for the grid by providing “operating reserves.” This means that the province’s 190 megawatts of storage capacity was standing by, ready to discharge in the case that the AESO needed them during an emergency or reliability event. By charging during times of low demand and discharging in times of high demand, storage can optimize how electricity from our generators makes it to customers, relieving strain on the system in the process. As demand on the grid ticked up and Alberta’s generators were unable to keep up, storage resources were called on to fill in the gap.

Unfortunately, due some of the legacy structures of our electricity market and regulations, storage is still a relatively nascent resource in Alberta and could only hold off the emergency alert for an hour or two. The emergency ultimately passed without serious consequence but it’s a powerful sign that something needs to change. Increasing Alberta’s energy storage would help the province meet peak demand, potentially avoiding the need for future emergency alerts.

Storage can also provide far more than just reliability—it is also a boon for affordability. Storage takes low-cost electricity, charging when demand is low or when renewables are plentiful, and discharges at higher-priced times, such as when demand is high and renewable output is low. More competition during high-priced times brings down the cost of high-priced hours and stabilizes the cost of electricity, to the benefit of Albertans and our economy.

Other provinces have recognized these benefits and are acting to enable investment in storage, at scale. Ontario is a good example. The province is currently building over 2,500MW of battery storage to meet critical capacity needs while ensuring Ontario’s clean electricity advantage is maintained. Going further, Ontario is advancing long-duration storage projects like the Ontario Pumped Storage Project and Marmora Pumped Storage Project that have the potential for greater reliability upsides including the ability to run for long periods of time.

Ontario has a diverse grid with a variety of resources on it: nuclear, gas, renewables, hydro, and more. Storage works well with all these resources. Indeed, much of the world’s existing pumped hydro storage was built in the 1970s and 1980s to provide a flexible complement to nuclear power, which isn’t meant to ramp up and down. Storage can optimize all resources while providing electricity when it is needed most, and Ontario’s pursuit of energy storage exemplifies this.

Nova Scotia is similarly investing in up to 400MW of storage, which will help it to develop its behemoth offshore wind resources and ease its transition off of coal power. This is especially significant considering the smaller size of the province as the result will be even more storage per capita than Ontario. Even our neighbours in Saskatchewan are building a 20MW battery near Regina.

Alberta can realize these benefits too. The province has 190MW of batteries installed now, but there are presently just under 3,000MW of standalone storage in development, with more storage in development paired with solar, wind, and gas facilities.

TORONTO, Jan. 24, 2024 /CNW/ - Today Canada's national trade association for energy storage, Energy Storage Canada (ESC), released a foundational report on the benefits of Long Duration Energy Storage (LDES) in Ontario. The report, conducted by Dunsky Advisors, Long Duration Storage Opportunity Assessment: A Critical Component in Growing Ontario's Clean Energy Economy, illustrates the substantial potential of LDES to contribute to the realization of the province's economic growth and energy transition objectives. 

The report identifies a minimum of 6 gigawatts (GW) of +10-hour duration energy storage starting in 2032, projecting it could achieve savings between $11 billion to $20 billion, compared to the Independent Electricity System Operator's (IESO) baseline Pathways to Decarbonization (P2D) scenario released last year.

These findings follow recent developments in the province, including last year's record-setting procurement by the IESO of 880 MW of energy storage capacity and this month's Directive from Minister of Energy, Todd Smith, for the IESO to advance work on the Meaford and Marmora pumped hydro storage projects and to determine the need for additional LDES resources.

"As a testament to the provincial government's initiative on market reform, Ontario is already recognized as a national and global leader in energy storage," states Justin Rangooni, Executive Director of ESC. "The IESO needs to capitalize on that momentum and continue future-proofing our energy system by making a clear commitment to procuring cost-saving Long Duration Energy Storage (LDES) resources. We have the opportunity to establish LDES as a Made-In-Ontario solution and to ensure the province remains at the forefront of global clean tech investment and innovation."

With industrial expansion and net zero driving steady growth for the province's electricity demand through 2050, the priority is on decarbonizing existing supply and scaling up non-emitting generation to meet the projected need for 2 to 3 times our current supply levels within thirty years. As a group of technologies, LDES – which can store and discharge energy over periods of +10 hours – will play a critical role by integrating intermittent renewables, hydroelectric and baseload nuclear while providing a source of reliable capacity during low-generation, high-demand periods. 

Dunsky's findings establish the previously unquantified potential of LDES to insure against potential development risks and vulnerabilities in the IESO's P2D scenarios while also optimising the performance of Small Modular Reactors (SMR), new grid-scale nuclear, blue and green hydrogen assets, and other emerging resources. The electricity grid challenges experienced by Western Canada during recent extreme cold weather events further emphasize the growing need for firm capacity resources to deliver system reliability. 

To allow sufficient headway for the uniquely long lead times of LDES development, the report encourages IESO to further examine the amount of LDES required in Ontario, and consider competitive procurements as early as 2025.

In response to ESC's report, Julia Souder, chief executive officer of the LDES Council, a global non-profit advancing research and deployment for long duration storage, says, "Accelerating the development and deployment of long duration energy storage offers the best pathway to full decarbonization for Ontario, Canada, and the world. The data is clear. Long duration energy storage will save the world economy $540 billion and transform into a trillion-dollar industry by 2040. Canada now has an opportunity to take a leadership position in this emerging energy solution, ensuring reliable renewable energy for its citizens, and a place in the growing global market for a key component of the energy transition."

Click here to listen:

https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-189-blue-sky/clip/16035953-what-lessons-sask.-taking-albertas-power-grid-problems

CBC Segment AB/SK
Blue Sky with Leisha Grebinski
Aired: January 17, 2024

The Saskatchewan government has pointed to Alberta's power grid issues during this week's deep freeze as a reason to push back against the transition from coal and natural gas, but environmental economists say the takeaway should be about sharing electricity between provinces and making more flexible grids. We hear from Sara Hastings-Simon (professor of earth, energy and environment in Calgary), the U of R's Brett Dolter and Margot Hurlbert, and Robert Tremblay with Energy Storage Canada.

TORONTO, Oct. 4, 2023 /CNW/ - Last evening, Energy Storage Canada (ESC) recognized six leaders and innovators in the industry as part of their second annual Energy Storage Canada Awards. The awards were distributed on the first evening of their two-day 2023 Energy Storage Canada Conference – Charging Net Zero.

The first award given recognized the contributions of Ontario's Minister of Energy, the Honourable Todd Smith, to the energy storage industry, presenting him with the 2023 Friend of Energy Storage Award. Selected by Energy Storage Canada's Board of Directors, the award aims to celebrate an individual who has demonstrated their support for energy storage and its integration into the Canadian grids. Minister Smith, who this time last year announced the largest energy storage procurement in Canada to date.

"Energy Storage Canada's Board of Directors was unanimous in selecting Minister Smith as the inaugural recipient for the Friend of Energy Storage Award," said the Chair of ESC's Board of Directors, Brad Kyte. "His leadership in launching one of the largest energy storage procurements in North America has put the Canadian energy storage sector on the map."

Justin Rangooni, Executive Director of Energy Storage Canada said, "It's our pleasure to recognize all six of this year's award recipients. They exemplify the growth of the energy storage across Canada. Their contributions have played a crucial role in establishing the foundations upon which, the industry will continue to thrive."

The Oneida Storage LP received the 2023 Energy Storage Milestone Award in recognition of the group's success in forging an equitable partnership for the largest project of its kind in Canada, which will pave the way for future projects and partnerships. EVLO Energy Storage received the 2023 Landmark Application of Energy Storage Award for their Parent Project, located in Parent, Canada, which demonstrates the role energy storage can play as a part of the distribution grid, serving as a viable non-wires-alternative (NWA), and opens avenues in terms of future applications. Elexicon Energy received the 2023 Champion of Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion in Energy Storage Award for their demonstration of passion and commitment for DEI, with concrete metrics measuring their progress and future goals.

Also recognized were two individuals. First, John Wright, Executive Director of Business Development with Northland Power received the 2023 Pioneer in Energy Storage Award for his critical guidance of Energy Storage Canada and contributions to its Federal policy and advocacy in the organization's early years, which was foundational to the inclusion of energy storage technologies in the federal Smart Renewables and Electrification Pathways Program (SREP). Second, Robin Clarke, Manager of Power Markets and Strategy with Capstone Infrastructure, was recognized in abstentia as the 2023 Future Energy Storage Leader for his demonstration of leadership in cross-technical projects, leveraging his technical expertise to build consensus with disparate groups to further the development of energy storage.

Hosted as part of Energy Storage Canada's annual conference, the Energy Storage Canada Awards aim to recognize and celebrate leadership and ingenuity within the sector year to year as energy storage continues to charge Canada's path to a net zero future.

The call for nominations for next year's awards will open Spring 2024.

Alberta's renewable-energy moratorium has put a spotlight on the future of wind and solar projects in the province, but there is another, related industry that has also been caught up in the province's sudden and controversial decision.

Energy storage.

The industry is nascent in Alberta — with just five small facilities totalling 90 megawatts of capacity connected to the power grid — but industry watchers believe it could be on the cusp of a major surge.

Companies have submitted dozens of applications to the Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO) for new projects, potentially representing thousands of megawatts' worth of industrial-scale battery storage that could come online in the next few years.

Many of those projects are in an early stage. Not all will necessarily end up getting built. Others, however, are nearing completion and due to be connected to the grid later this year.

At the heart of the boom in business interest are a few key factors: the declining cost of large-scale batteries, the increasing costs (both financial and environmental) of carbon emissions, and the rapid growth in renewable energy, which goes hand-in-hand with energy storage — both technologically and economically…

Towering over the Lactalis dairy in Etobicoke are two giant metal silos filled with cream ready to be cultured into yogurt.

Tucked into the shade beneath them is a white shipping container filled with batteries ready to step in at a moment’s notice and power the entire plant.

The industrial-scale batteries are an innovative way one of Canada’s oldest businesses is using technology to save money, reduce its carbon footprint and relieve pressure on the electrical grid. Deployed widely, these kinds of batteries could play a significant role in reducing Canada’s carbon emissions and building a net-zero economy.

The Lactalis batteries kick in whenever there’s a micro-outage — a tiny fluctuation in the power feeding the plant — that can reduce the temperature of the pasteurization process and wreck an entire batch of yogurt.

They also activate when the grid is straining under peak demand, and the province activates its fleet of emissions-intensive natural gas generators, powering the plant autonomously and freeing up power for others.

The combined savings from not paying for power at peak rates — a premium which generates up to 70 per cent of the electricity bills for large, industrial users — and not having to dispose of up to 10 spoiled batches of yogurt per year adds up to hundreds of thousands of dollars in annual savings…

For years, southwestern Ontario’s political and business leaders — particularly in Windsor and Essex County — have been calling for action to meet growing energy demand that poses a serious challenge for the grid.

Companies have worried about making investments due to supply issues, while demand in southwestern Ontario is growing so much that last year, Ontario’s electricity regulator forecasted it would double by 2027.

We’ve heard debates over transmission lines and plants with concerns about blackouts and brownouts.

There’s now a win to celebrate, with more to come.

When Ontario’s Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) announced in May seven new energy storage projects in the province, it marked the largest energy storage procurement ever in Canada, adding 739 megawatts (MW) of capacity to the current 228 MW of storage currently on the grid.

While we were expecting this news, and for southwestern Ontario to be a prime area for these projects, we didn’t know when they would be completed, nor where exactly selected projects would be placed.

We are not disappointed with the results.

The IESO tapped five projects for southwestern Ontario, including four in Essex County — three projects in Windsor and one in Lakeshore account for roughly 100 MWs. In Haldimand County, a single battery storage facility will have a maximum capacity of 300 MW…

The agency that operates Ontario’s electricity system has announced procurements of power from seven new energy storage projects and increasing generation capacity at existing natural gas-fired plants.

In what it called the largest procurement of storage capacity in Canada, the Independent Electricity System Operator said it will purchase 739 megawatts of storage, predominantly from two proposed battery facilities in Hagersville and Napanee, Ont…

Electric demand in Ontario is expected to grow substantially in the next two decades, due to economic development and the predicted shift of many fossil fuel-reliant industries to electricity as part of the ongoing efforts to decarbonize.

By Justin Rangooni
May 30, 2023

(view the original article in Energy Storage News)

The last 12 months have seen considerable development in Canada’s energy storage market. The result is a sense of powerful momentum building within the sector to accelerate the development and deployment of energy storage, particularly within the context of enabling Canada’s net-zero goals.

Examining the milestones realised, it’s not difficult to see why.

Tax credit scheme on the way
Most recently, the 2023 Federal Budget built upon the 30% Clean Technology Investment Tax Credit (ITC) announced in November’s 2022 Fall Economic Statement, with the introduction of a 30% Clean Technology Manufacturing Credit and a 15% Clean Electricity ITC, which expands eligibility to non-taxable entities. In combination with the recapitalisation of the Smart Renewables and Electrification Pathways Program (SREP), these initiatives are being recognised, in Canada and abroad, as an indication that Canada understands the vital role energy storage will play in Canada’s energy transition.

These mechanisms represent critical steps on Canada’s part to keep pace with the United States’ ITCs through the IRA, which are estimated to increase US storage deployments by as much as 24% over the next five years.

It’s not hard to imagine in the context of a 68% increase in energy storage worldwide in 2022, with additional commitments from several markets totaling 130GW by 2030.

Recent major milestones for Ontario and Alberta
Canada has seen several landmark developments at the provincial level as well, including the government of Ontario’s October 2022 announcement of one of largest competitive energy storage procurements in North America at 2.5 GW, with the first tranche of projects announced on 16 May.

This milestone was further augmented by this spring’s announcement of the 250MW Oneida Energy Storage project moving toward commercial operation in Ontario, as the project partners achieved financial close with key long-term contracting in place.

In addition to the 100MW already installed in Alberta, the province has projects with a total capacity of more than 2500MW in the queue for connection.

Elsewhere, on the east coast, NB Power is soliciting proposals for 50MW of energy storage projects in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia recently proposed amendments to the Electricity Act to enable grid-scale battery contracts and procurements.

Each of these actions at both the federal and provincial level are important steps forward for Canada to achieve its ambitious net zero goals.

Coming soon: the 250MW/1,000MWh Oneida project in Ontario. Image: NRStor.

Canada still needs much more storage for net zero to succeed
Energy Storage Canada’s 2022 report, Energy Storage: A Key Net Zero Pathway in Canada indicates Canada will need a minimum of 8 to 12GW of energy storage to ensure Canada achieves its 2035 goals. Moreover, while each province’s supply structure differs, potential capacity for energy storage was identified in all Canadian provinces, meeting demand needs and optimizing generation, transmission, and distribution assets.

Long-duration storage should be a key component of Canada’s energy future
Additionally, while it is important we act and act quickly to deploy energy storage to meet the evolving needs of Canada’s energy system, we also need to act with an eye toward the long-term beyond 2035.

16 May 2023

Today the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) announced seven new energy storage projects in Ontario for a total of 739 MW of capacity.

The announcement is part of the province’s ongoing procurement for 2500 MW of energy storage to support the decarbonization and electrification of Ontario’s grid, which was originally announced in October, 2022.

Electricity demand in Ontario is expected to grow substantially in the next two decades, due to economic development and the predicted shift of many fossil fuel-reliant industries to electricity as part of the ongoing efforts to decarbonize. Energy Storage can support decarbonization efforts, storing excess low-cost energy – often from renewable sources – for later use. Lesley Gallinger, President and CEO of the IESO stated the IESO “recognize(s) the vital role energy storage plays in the decarbonization effort and in ensuring a stable and reliable energy supply.”

“At Energy Storage Canada we’re excited to see the IESO’s announcement of more than 700 MW of energy storage projects as the next step in Canada’s largest energy storage procurement to date,” said Justin Rangooni, Executive Director, Energy Storage Canada. “Energy storage is a flexible and sustainable means of managing and operating Ontario’s grid in a safe, reliable, and efficiency manner as the province, and Canada more broadly, undergo the current energy transition. We’re pleased to see the province of Ontario leading the way and we look forward to seeing additional projects announced in the coming months.”

Despite a pledge to become “carbon-free,” McMaster University is building four natural gas power generators on campus — a plan that's drawn a substantial backlash from the student body and attracted international condemnation.

The power project, which got its building permit last month, is slated to be up and running by the summer.

“They say they are the most ahead university in Canada in terms of climate initiatives, which I find to be a dubious claim,” said Cordelia McConnell, a third-year social-work student and a member of MacDivest, a student group pushing the university to divest from fossil fuels.

The group says the $31-million project is even worse than owning stock in oil companies, she said.

“This gas plant is literal investment in fossil fuel infrastructure,” said McConnell. “We need to invest in renewable energy.”

The Hamilton university’s gas plans are the latest flashpoint in a simmering struggle over the role of natural gas in the transition to a carbon-free economy. Proponents tout natural gas as fuel that produces less carbon emissions than coal, but critics say renewable energy technologies that produce no emissions at all have advanced to the point where they’re cheaper.

On Wednesday, MacDivest delivered a letter denouncing the plan to the university signed by 120 environmental organizations from around the world, including Greenpeace Canada, 350 NYC and Extinction Rebellion San Francisco.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

28 March 2023

2023 Federal Budget expands support for clean technologies through a refundable up to 30 percent ITC, which will contribute to Canadian markets’ ability to maintain global competitiveness

Today’s Federal Budget, A Made in Canada Plan, builds upon the 30% Clean Technology ITC introduced in the 2022 Fall Economic Statement by introducing a 15% Clean Electricity ITC which expands eligibility to non-taxable entities. This initiative is introduced in tandem with a commitment to recapitalize the Smart Renewables and Electrification Pathways Program (SREP), as well as additional ITCs for clean hydrogen and clean technology manufacturing. Taken together, these measures are a vital step to ensuring Canada’s energy storage market remains globally competitive throughout the ongoing energy transition and secures the necessary deployment of decarbonization technology to support Canada’s path to net-zero.

“The announcements in today’s Federal Budget related to Clean Technology ITCs & the SREP program are critical steps to ensure Canada’s energy storage sector keeps pace with the United States and the global market,” said Justin Rangooni, Executive Director of Energy Storage Canada. “Canada’s ability to meet its ambitious net-zero targets by decarbonizing its electricity grid is dependent on the flexibility and reliability that a diversity of energy storage technologies of varied durations can provide.”

“Our recent report, Energy Storage: A Key Pathway to Net-Zero in Canada, identifies a minimum of 8 to 12 gigawatts of energy storage is needed for Canada to reach its goal of a 2035 net-zero electricity grid,” said Rangooni. “Today’s announcements represent a definitive step in the right direction for Canada’s federal government, but it’s still a wide gap to close to meet the country’s goals. To that end, we look forward to continuing to work with the Federal Government, the provinces, and our members to make that a reality.”