Regulations approved for battery energy storage systems in Ottawa

The Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee in Ottawa approved Official Plan and zoning amendments to establish land-use policy for siting Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS).

BESS are an emerging battery technology that can help make the electricity system more reliable by drawing and storing energy from the grid during off-peak hours, when demand is low, and discharging it back to the grid when needed. Battery storage is increasingly vital for personal and professional applications and the current dominant storage technology for utility-scale BESS facilities is lithium-ion batteries, which are commonly used in mobile phones and electric cars.

While the Province of Ontario is the regulator and owner of electricity generation supplies, municipalities have siting authority over new proposed renewable energy generation and storage projects, such as BESS. The approved amendments set policy direction for siting BESS within Ottawa’s rural and urban areas. BESS proponents will be required to demonstrate to Ottawa Fire Services’ satisfaction that effective fire and safety risk management is applied in the design of each facility. Proponents will also be required to install fire prevention and suppression systems, and must provide Ottawa Fire Services with site-specific training.

The approved report also includes an approach to managing future requests for Municipal Support Resolutions (MSR) that are associated with a BESS. A Municipal Support Resolution is the mechanism the Independent Electricity Systems Operator (IESO) uses to have municipal governments endorse the energy projects that IESO procures. Under the proposed process, requests for MSRs that are associated with a BESS project are to be brought forward as part of a Zoning By-law amendment, and decisions on the MSR and the zoning amendment would be recorded as separate decisions.

The Planning and Housing Committee will consider this report on February 5, before it rises to Council on February 12.

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