EDP Renewables North America has announced a land purchase agreement for the 75MWac, 300MWh Edgeware energy storage project in St. Thomas, Ontario, CA.
Meanwhile, fellow independent power producer (IPP) SolarBank has announced its first BESS in the province, with construction expected to commence 10 February.
EDPR NA completes Ontario land purchase agreement
EDP Renewables North America (EDPR NA) and EDP Renewables Canada (EDPR Canada) have partnered with Caldwell First Nation to complete a land purchase agreement for the 75MWac, 300MWh Edgeware energy storage project in St. Thomas, Ontario, CA.
The project was awarded a 20-year contract with the Ontario Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) through the IESO long-term 1 request for proposals (RFP). It will be located on traditional Caldwell First Nation territory and is expected operational in 2027.
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EDPR NA says that the Caldwell First Nation has acquired a 50% equity interest in the project and a portion of the proceeds generated from its operation will directly benefit the Caldwell community.
Canada has a goal of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. EDPR Canada estimates that approximately 8-12GW of energy storage generation would optimally support Canada’s net-zero transition.
Thomas LoTurco, executive vice president, Eastern US, Canada & Government Affairs at EDPR NA said of the announced land purchase:
“EDPR Canada is proud to be partnering with Caldwell First Nation and the City of St. Thomas on the development and success of the Edgeware project. The project will provide economic benefits locally while also supporting the reliability needs of the province of Ontario.”
According to the company’s website, EDP NA currently has over 500MW of installed energy capacity across four projects consisting of solar and wind generation.
EDPR NA is also active in the US. Last November, Arizona utility Salt River Project (SRP) and EDPR NA announced a 200MW/800MWh BESS in the state, and in September of the same year, the company secured a long-term capacity tolling agreement with Dominion Energy to develop a 85MW/340MWh BESS in the state of Virginia.
The provincial government of Ontario is also in pre-development of a 1GWh/11GWh pumped hydro energy storage project (PHES). Ontario will invest up to CA$285 million (US$198 million) to advance the Ontario Pumped Storage Project, proposed for construction in Meaford, a coastal municipality about 180km from Toronto and 265km from St. Thomas.
SolarBank announces first BESS project in Ontario
Elsewhere in Ontario, SolarBank has announced its first BESS in the province, with construction expected to commence 10 February.
Known as SFF-06, the project is located in Cramahe, Ontario and is being financed through a combined loan for two projects in a principal amount of CA$25.8 million (US$18 million) from Royal Bank of Canada acting as lender, administrative and collateral agent and green loan structuring agent.
SolarBank has a myriad of solar projects across Ontario, CA and New York, US while SFF-06 will mark the company’s first BESS. In July 2023, the Project was awarded a contract by the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) under the Expedited Long-Term RFP (E-LT1 RFP), the predecessor to the LT1 RFP which EDPR NA’s was successful in.
The contract has a term of 22 years and includes a fixed contract capacity payment of CA$1,221/MW per business day, significantly above the weighted average price of CA$876/MW for all storage category projects under the E-LT1 RFP.
The company has also awarded Anvil Crawler Development Corp. with a CA$1.85 million contract to perform the civil and electrical work on the project.
SolarBank says it expects the project to have 4.74MW of daily contract capacity available for 251 days business days in the year. The Project is also eligible for the Clean Technology Investment Tax Credit (ITC) introduced in 2024, which provides up to 30% reimbursement of eligible capital costs for new clean technology.
ITCs allow for creative financing deals. Developer Boralex and its partner Six Nations of the Grand River Development Corporation (SNGRDC) recently closed a US$372.2 million financing for a 300MW/1,200MWh BESS. Part of the funding structure was US$99 million to be repaid when ITCs are received for the project.
In 2023, Canadian utility Hydro-Quebec’s BESS technology arm EVLO Energy Storage signed an equipment supply agreement with SolarBank for three projects in Ontario.
