Alectra Energy Solutions and Convergent Energy & Power have completed a 320MWh BESS portfolio at three sites in Ontario.
Rodan Energy Solutions also announced a long-term agreement to build what it calls Canada’s largest behind-the-meter commercial and industrial (C&I) BESS at St. Marys Cement in Bowmanville.
Convergent and Alectra Energy complete 320MWh Ontario BESS portfolio
Canadian utility Alectra Energy Solutions and energy storage developer Convergent Energy & Power have completed three energy storage projects in Ontario, CA.
Announced on 6 November, two of the battery energy storage systems (BESS) are located in Vaughan. A third project is located in Guelph. Collectively, the projects have a capacity of 320MWh.
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Vaughan 3 Energy Storage 1 LP is a 40MW/160MWh BESS facility, Vaughan 1E Energy 1 LP is a 20MW/80MWh BESS facility, and Arlen Energy Storage 1 LP is a 20MW/80MWh BESS facility.
Ontario Minister of Energy and Mines Stephen Lecce joined Alectra executives for a tour and ribbon-cutting at the Vaughan 3 facility.
Attendees included Associate Attorney General and Vaughan–Woodbridge MPP Michael A. Tibollo; Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Energy and Mines and Mississauga-Lakeshore MPP Rudy Cuzzetto; City of Vaughan Ward 2 Councillor Adriano Volpentesta; and Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) President and CEO Jason Fitzsimmons.
Alectra and Convergent were awarded the 20-year contracts for the three BESS projects through IESO’s Expedited Long-Term 1 (LT1) procurement. LT1 awarded over 850MW of BESS capacity contracts across two tranches during May and June of 2023.
In June 2026, IESO secured 640MW of capacity through three projects selected in the capacity stream of the Second Long-Term Request for Proposals (LT2). Announced in August 2024, LT2 aimed to procure 3TWh of energy generation and 600MW of new capacity resources.
In May, the IESO launched its Long Lead-Time request for proposal (LLT RFP), aiming to procure up to 800MW of long-duration energy storage (LDES). Shortly afterwards, LDES developer-operator Hydrostor announced plans to submit a compressed air storage project to the LLT RFP.
Convergent was founded in 2011 and has largely focused on C&I-sited projects.
In 2022, the company deployed a 4MW/8MWh BESS for Ford Motor’s engine plant in Ontario, with the intention of strategically reducing the plant’s electricity consumption.
Late last year, a fire occurred at Convergent’s Church Street Battery Storage Facility in Warwick, New York. The fire was confined to one container, and there were no reported injuries.
Rodan Energy building Canada’s largest BTM BESS
Grid optimiser Rodan Energy Solutions has announced a long-term agreement for a 50MWh behind-the-meter (BTM) BESS at St. Marys Cement’s Bowmanville, Ontario facility.
Announced 27 October, the long-term agreement between Rodan and St. Marys Cement Inc., a subsidiary of the building materials company Votorantim Cimentos North America (VCNA), covers the development, ownership, and optimisation of the BESS.
Rodan claimed that the project is the largest BTM BESS installation in Canada to date. Going back to 2018, Convergent previously installed what was regarded as Ontario’s largest BTM BESS.
Rodan’s BESS will help the plant reduce its grid demand during peak electricity periods while maintaining essential operations. It will also enable the batteries to be charged during low-demand periods and used during peak-demand periods.
This helps to reduce demand on the grid when electricity’s carbon intensity is higher. The project supports VCNA’s sustainability roadmap, including its commitment to net-zero concrete by 2050 and interim 2030 targets.
Rodan Energy will develop, own, and operate the BESS, providing ongoing energy optimisation through its proprietary managed operations platform, FlexOps.
The company further claimed that the BESS will create significant economic value by providing grid flexibility resources and reducing energy costs, while supporting VCNA’s sustainability goals and strengthening the Bowmanville plant’s operational resiliency.
Rodan will assume the development capital and operational risk, while St. Marys Cement benefits from a fully managed, long-term energy solution with no upfront capital outlay.
In September, trade association Energy Storage Canada (ESC) recommended establishing a Distributed Reliability Track for BTM and distribution-connected BESS in Ontario.
The report explained how to carry out commitments in Energy for Generations, Ontario’s Integrated Energy Plan. The plan recognizes that distributed energy resources (DERs) provide the grid with benefits that are undervalued and calls for compensation structures that accurately reflect their contributions.
