Ontario's Minister of Energy and Electrification will be in Tilbury on Friday afternoon to make a big announcement.
CK News Today has learned Minister Stephen Lecce will officially announce a new battery energy storage facility in North Tilbury that will create 150 new jobs.
The project is an 80 megawatt storage site selected by the Ontario Independent Electricity System Operator to help meet the energy capacity needed in the future and to benefit the overall electricity system in Ontario.
Quebec-based renewable energy company Boralex said it has already held multiple open house sessions regarding the project, adding that construction should begin soon and the facility is planned to begin operating in late 2025.
The Tilbury Battery Storage project will consist of 89 batteries in containers, inverters, medium voltage transformers, gravel internal access roads, buried collector and communication cabling, and a small transmission substation.
The facility will be directly connected to nearby Hydro One infrastructure and will provide reliable power capacity by drawing and storing energy from the grid during off-peak periods and releasing it back to the Ontario grid when energy demand is at its peak.
The project is also expected to provide significant benefits to Ontario’s taxpayers by reducing the need and cost associated with using gas-fired power plants during times of peak demand as well as helping to clean Ontario’s electricity system.
Boralex noted the Tesla battery megapacks have temperature monitoring on the battery cells to make sure they do not overheat and have a sparker system which prevents the buildup of potentially explosive gases.
The megapacks are monitored 24/7 by Boralex in their control center in Québec and Tesla has a 24/7 emergency response centre, according to Boralex.
"In cases where the safe operation could be impacted, the affected Megapack will be automatically disconnected,' said Boralex.
