This article was published by The Energy Mix on April 18, 2024.
By Christopher Bonasia
One more southern Ontario municipality is offering conditional support for TC Energy’s proposal to build Canada’s biggest energy storage project to date on the Georgian Bay, while other local towns and groups continue to oppose it.
The Owen Sound city council’s decision to support the large pumped storage project depends on successful completion of environmental approvals, reports the Owen Sound Current.
“The way I look at it is, we’re saying yes, please move on and conduct your studies,” councillor Melanie Middlebro told the council meeting in late March.
So far, the council’s approval aligns with the cautious support from the municipality of Meaford, where the project is sited on Department of National Defence lands, and from the Saugeen Ojibway Nation, which was named as a “prospective partner” by TC Energy.
Four nearby municipalities have passed motions opposing the project, notes the Meaford Independent: Township of The Archipelago, Township of Georgian Bay, Town of the Blue Mountains, and Parry Sound.
The proposed Ontario Pumped Storage Project would pump water from the Georgian Bay at night, when electricity is cheaper, into a 20-million-cubic-metre reservoir 150 metres above the shoreline, to be stored and released back down during daytime hours to generate hydroelectricity when it’s needed.
TC Energy says the project will provide important energy storage capacity while creating 1,000 jobs in the area and generating annual savings of C$250 million for electricity consumers. It told The Narwhal its engagement with Saugeen Ojibway Nation to consult on the project is critical, and that the company will “walk away” if the Nation disapproves.
That spirit of collaboration was echoed by Saugeen Chief Conrad Ritchie, who said in January that “the Ontario Pumped Storage Project is a long overdue energy initiative with real benefits for the Indigenous people of the land.”
But as of early April, the Nation had not yet decided whether it fully supports the project, the Current reports.
Opponents say they worry about the project’s environmental impact. Save Georgian Bay, an organization formed to oppose the project, raises concerns about 30 endangered species located at the site, adding that the project could endanger residents of 300 homes located below the reservoir if leaks or breaches occur. There are also threats from unexploded munitions in the bay and potential for toxic contamination, the group says.
The concerns raised by opposing townships are similar. The Township of the Archipelago said in its resolution to oppose the project that it risks “irreparable harm to the environment and would have significant negative impacts on the local animal, plant, fish, and human populations.”
TC Energy points to the job and energy benefits of the project, emphasizing it will “undergo rigorous provincial and federal environmental and impact assessments.”
In late January, Ontario Energy Minister Todd Smith withheld final approval for the project, which was criticized by Ontario’s Independent Energy Systems Operator (IESO) as less efficient than alternatives like battery storage. Following a directive from Smith, TC Energy and Saugeen Ojibway Nation are preparing to report back to the Minister and the IESO with a cost estimate for pre-development work and a project schedule.
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