Nova Scotia Rolls Out the Red Carpet for Energy Storage Solutions
March 28, 2023 – Amendments to Nova Scotia’s Electricity Act will open the door for more storage solutions for renewable electricity.
“We need to accelerate the use of battery storage in Nova Scotia to help us get off coal and meet our renewable electricity targets,” said Tory Rushton, Minister of Natural Resources and Renewables. “These amendments encourage innovation and early adoption of battery technology in the province.”
Changes to the act will allow the department to issue requests for proposals for energy storage solutions, like large-scale batteries. Currently, only Nova Scotia Power is permitted to own such storage methods, says the department.
Other amendments will allow the department to issue contracts for “well-developed, innovative energy storage projects that can be implemented quickly”. These projects are to also help identify the best ways for using energy storage in the province.
“Nova Scotia’s target to phase out coal and supply 80% of its electricity from renewable energy sources by 2030 is achievable, but only if the right amount of energy storage is in place well in advance of this deadline” said Justin Rangooni, executive director, Energy Storage Canada. “This new legislation and funding sends the right signal to industry to accelerate investment in their projects and partnerships, and to prepare them for commercial operation.”
The amendments support the addition of more renewables to the electricity system while reducing costs for ratepayers.
Nova Scotia Electricity Law Changes give ‘new momentum’ to Energy Storage Projects
The government of Nova Scotia, Canada, has made amendments to the province’s Electricity Act with the view to accelerating the deployment of energy storage.
The amendments were introduced on Wednesday (22 March) and announced by Nova Scotia’s minister of natural resources and renewables, Tory Rushton. Under the changes, Rushton’s department will be able to direct utilities to hold competitive procurements for energy storage resources.
“We need to accelerate the use of battery storage in Nova Scotia to help us get off coal and meet our renewable electricity targets. These amendments encourage innovation and early adoption of battery technology in the province,” Rushton said.
The province still relies heavily on coal, with about half of its electricity coming from the fossil fuel, and is its single biggest source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Its renewable electricity policy target meanwhile is 80% by 2030.
Vertically integrated energy company Nova Scotia Power is currently the sole entity permitted to own energy storage solutions like large-scale battery storage, with the amendments to the act enabling the Department of Natural Resources and Renewables to open up requests for proposals (RfPs) to others. Nova Scotia Power is privately owned by Emera Incorporated and regulated by the provincial government via the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board.
New momentum for energy storage projects building in Nova Scotia
Today’s provincial budget tabled in the Nova Scotia Legislature for fiscal year 2023- 2024 commits funding to implement numerous clean energy initiatives, including the development of a strategy to issue proposals and contracts for grid-scale battery energy storage systems (BESS).
This funding follows yesterday’s introduction of Bill 264 by the Honourable Tory Rushton, Nova Scotia’s Minister of Natural Resources and Renewables, that will allow the Department of Natural Resources and Renewables to issue: “requests for proposals for energy storage solutions, like large-scale batteries;” and “contracts for well-developed, innovative energy storage projects that can be implemented quickly”
“Nova Scotia’s target to phase out coal and supply 80% of its electricity from renewable energy sources by 2030 is achievable, but only if the right amount of energy storage is in place well in advance of this deadline” said Justin Rangooni, Executive Director, Energy Storage Canada. “This new legislation and funding sends the right signal to industry to accelerate investment in their projects and partnerships, and to prepare them for commercial operation. We applaud the government’s leadership and look forward to supporting the development and implementation of the province’s energy storage strategy.”
Hitting Net Zero will depend on storing more energy
When we talk about decarbonising Canadian electricity, we tend to focus on how it is generated. How can we cost-effectively expand hydropower capacity? Where are solar panels and wind turbines best located? How can we fully capture the potential of new fuels such as hydrogen and ammonia?
All vital questions, to be sure.
But only increasing the generation of clean electricity is not enough, either to meet the growing demands of the system or the net zero goals Canada has set. We must also knit the system together, through the large-scale build-out of diverse forms of energy storage, which can optimise generation assets and help to advance Canada on its path to carbon neutrality.
Closing the gap
Our recent white paper, Energy Storage: A Key Pathway to Net Zero, quantifies, for the first time in Canada, the scope of the build-out needed, providing a province-by-province estimate of the installed capacity required to optimally supplement Canada's grid as more green electricity sources are added. It is a significant amount - in the range of 8 to 12 gigawatts nationally by 2035.
Energy storage solutions powering path to net zero
As the world’s sixth-largest electricity producer and third-largest electricity exporter, Canada is an electricity heavyweight. And with a grid that is already 83 per cent emission-free, the country seems well positioned for meeting ambitious net-zero and economic ambitions.
However, the Canadian Climate Institute (formerly the Canadian Institute for Climate Choices) predicts that the electrification of Canada’s grid – which involves connecting an increasing number of electric vehicles (EVs), heating systems and industries to a clean electricity grid – will require the production of roughly twice as much non-emitting electricity as it does today in just under three decades.
However, when we talk about expanding Canada’s electricity grid, we tend to focus strictly on increasing the generation of clean electricity, which according to Justin Rangooni, executive director of Energy Storage Canada, will not be enough. We must also knit the system together through the large-scale build-out of diverse forms of energy storage, which can optimize generation assets and help to advance Canada on its path to carbon neutrality.
“Canada has set an ambitious goal to achieve a net-zero electricity system by 2035, the success of which depends on energy storage,” he says. “The versatility of energy storage is going to be absolutely essential to meeting the needs of more end-use electricity, an increasing volume of which will be generated by intermittent renewable and non-emitting resources.”
Energy Storage Canada joins fellow low-carbon energy associations in applauding the Investment Tax Credit announcement in the Fall Economic Statement
The members of the Low Carbon Technologies Initiative (LCTI) congratulate the Government of Canada on its continued commitment to ensuring Canada becomes a leading provider of clean energy in a net zero world by expanding support for low-carbon technologies in its recent Fall Economic Statement.
In particular, the refundable 30% investment tax credit (ITC) applicable to clean energy technologies, including hydrogen, small modular reactors (SMRs), and all forms of energy storage technology, is a strong next step on the path to net zero. More equitable support for a diversity of assets will contribute to a robust, flexible, and resilient energy system for Canada, which will help the country achieve its GHG targets and spur economic development. The government has recognized this in its design of the clean energy ITC.