Ontario announces $170 million Tilbury Battery Storage Project
The project will use 89 Tesla Megapacks, lithium-ion battery storage units. Once complete, the facility will provide 80 megawatts of storage with the capacity to power approximately 80,000 homes.
The Ontario government recently announced its new USD 170 million Tilbury Battery Storage Project, owned by Quebec company Boralex in partnership with Walpole Island First Nation. The project is expected to become commercially operational by late 2025, the Energy Central reports.
The project just outside Tilbury is expected to help the Canadian province meet its growing electricity needs and provide more than 100 local jobs.
Once complete, the facility will provide 80 megawatts of storage with the capacity to power approximately 80,000 homes.
Officials said no taxpayer money will be used to build the facility, but the province will pay for the power when it is fed back to the grid.
“We also recognize we got to keep the rates down, and part of this project is not just about harnessing renewable energy and keeping our grid clean, it's about keeping the rates down for families and farmers and seniors,” said Stephen Lecce, Ontario’s minister of energy and electrification.
The Tilbury Battery Storage Project was awarded in 2023 as part of Ontario’s Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO)'s Expedited Long-Term Request for Proposals (E-LT1 RFP) in 2022, according to the Energy Central.
The E-LT1 RFP acquired more than 1,100 MW of capacity: 880 MW of electricity storage and 285 MW of expansions at existing natural gas facilities to assist during the transition period to clean energy.
This latest announcement aligns with the Ontario government’s larger plans to expand the province's clean energy grid and meet growing demand. Electricity demand in the province will increase steadily at a 2% annual growth rate, up to 60% by 2050, according to a forecast by the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO).
The project will use 89 Tesla Megapacks, lithium-ion battery storage units. Each of these units can store more than 3.9 MWh of energy and power an average of 3,600 homes for one hour.
Megapacks are already being used in battery storage facilities across Canada such as the Millidgeville Substation in Saint John, N.B., and WindCharger Battery Storage in Pincher Creek, Alta.
