A ‘Made in Ontario’ Power Solution

Electricity Canada: The Grid 2022

John Mikkelsen

Project Manager, TC Energy

As Ontario seeks to drive to Net Zero emissions to meet climate change goals, new solutions are needed and are being developed. The Ontario Pumped Storage Project is one such example.

The Need

The most recent Annual Planning Outlook of the Ontario Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) indicates that electricity demand is forecasted to rise at rates not seen in many years. Economic growth is driving the increased demand, and as a result, uncertainty. Long-duration storage, specifically pumped hydro storage, could play a key role in bridging the gap in an economical and environmentally responsible way. Pumped hydro storage, which has been used for more than a century around the world, involves pumping water from a low-lying reservoir to a higher-elevation reservoir. This typically happens during periods of low demand for electricity, usually at night. When electricity demand is greater, typically during the day, water is returned to the lower reservoir through turbines that generate electricity, like hydropower from dams.

More than 160,000 megawatts (MW) of pumped storage capacity currently exists worldwide, including 165 MW in Ontario. Pumped storage accounts for 95% of global energy storage, and there are more than 100 projects planned or currently under construction.

Electricity Canada: The Grid 2022

The Nuclear Innovation Institute’s January 2022 report, Store of Value, underscores the need for additional energy storage in the province of Ontario: “The combination of nuclear and increased levels of energy storage would give electricity system operators a clean alternative to the current practice of using gas-fired electricity generation facilities to back-up intermittent sources like wind and solar and meeting peak demand, creating an on-demand supply of clean energy.”

The Project

Our ‘Made in Ontario’ Net Zero project will address the need for additional electricity generating capacity while also driving important climate-change progress. It is one of the largest climate-change initiatives being developed in Canada. The stateof-the-art design incorporates the latest and best technologies that protect the environment while advancing towards Canada’s 2030 target of 30% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. At 1,000 MW, the proposed project will be the province’s largest storage asset, storing enough clean carbon-free electricity to power nearly a million homes. As proposed, the facility would be sited on a small portion of the Canadian Army’s 4th Canadian Division Training Centre, north of Meaford, Ontario. The Opportunities

This project will save Ontario ratepayers $250 million per year, create 1,000 jobs during development and construction, and drive economic stimulus locally, provincially and nationally. In addition, the project offers a commercial partnership opportunity for the Saugeen Ojibway Nation, upon whose territory the project is situated. The project is consistent with the Canada Infrastructure Bank’s mandate to support projects with meaningful Indigenous community participation while advancing clean energy targets.

TC Energy is proposing to design, construct and operate a gridscale energy storage facility for Ontario’s electricity system, providing the needed capacity for the province. This project will not only help to reduce electricity costs and green-house gas emissions, but also support economic recovery, and provide storage for Ontario’s excess baseload generation.