After initially rejecting a 250MW standalone BESS proposal in Ontario, Canada, from Brookfield portfolio company Evolugen, Ottawa City Council has pledged its support for the project.
The pledge came after months of uncertainty surrounding the development. Council members overwhelmingly voted in favour of allowing the project to move forward, despite the City of Ottawa’s Agricultural and Rural Affairs Committee (ARAC) recently recommending the City Council deny Evolguen’s request for a Municipal Support Resolution (MSR).
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IESO procurement
In partnership with the Algonquins of Pikwakanagan First Nation, Evolugen proposed a 250MW BESS located in Fitzroy in the Parish of West Carleton-March, Ottawa.
The proposal in question, initially dubbed Fitzroy BESS, was selected by the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) as part of Ontario’s largest-ever procurement.
Across the system operator’s Expedited Long-Term 1 (E-LT1) and Long-Term 1 (LT1) RFPs, IESO procured over 2.8GW of energy storage capacity, which, alongside Fitzroy BESS, included another smaller 150MW proposal from Evolugen, known as Trailroad BESS.
In the run-up to contract awarding in December 2023, Ottawa City Council rejected Evolugen’s request for an MSR. With IESO contracts contingent on developers receiving support from local municipalities in the form of MSRs, many believed this decision left the project dead in the water.
However, IESO decided to hand a contract to Evolguen for its Fitzroy BESS even without an MSR. Of the 25 energy storage projects to receive contracts from IESO, Fitzroy was the only one to not receive support from a local authority.
Under the terms of the IESO agreement, Evolguen had until January 26th 2026 to obtain an MSR, or risk losing the contract altogether.
Developer’s renewed MSR request
At the beginning of this year, Evolugen revealed that it had decided upon a new location for the 250MW BESS, located approximately 15 kilometres away from the original site in rural South March.
After carrying out additional public consultation on the new proposal, dubbed South March BESS, Evolugen submitted a renewed MSR request with Ottawa City Council on 29 May 2025.
Prior to the project being brought to the City Council, ARAC held a mammoth 10-hour meeting on 7 June, where members of the public were given the opportunity to voice their views on the renewed proposal.
After listening to residents located in close proximity to the renewed proposal, ARAC commissioners unanimously recommended the City Council reject the MSR request.
‘Energy is the new gold’
During last week’s City Council meeting, Councillor and Deputy Mayor Cathay Curry opened MSR proceedings by urging fellow councillors to consider the future importance of projects like Evolgen’s South March BESS.
“Energy is the new gold – [projects such as these] enable new sectors to expand, it attracts and keeps business here in Ottawa, [whilst] creating and keeping tens of thousands of jobs,” Curry said.
Curry also spoke about one of the world’s largest pension funds, the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (OTPP), and how everyday Canadians will ultimately benefit from more renewable energy projects.
“The fund has CA$244 billion [in assets under management] and it last year invested CA$33 billion into mostly green energy projects,” explained Curry.
“[As an example], when a housing developer goes to look for funding … they go to the pension fund and they are looking for green investment – we’re taking hundreds of billions of dollars of investment if we have projects that are considered green,” added the Deputy Mayor.
After Curry made her position clear, Councillor for Rideau-Jock Ward, David Brown, spoke on behalf of local residents in opposition to the development, who had raised concerns surrounding its proposed location.
“Today, I’m going to be voting to deny the MSR … I think having strong community backing is important when we consider these [projects] moving forward,” said Brown.
In reference to Evolugen’s other Trailroad BESS project, Brown pointed out that the council had already “approved a project in my ward, [proving] there are appropriate locations in Ottawa to host sites.” However, this location for Evolugen’s other project isn’t one of them, according to the councillor.
Rural fire-fighting capacity
After hearing from both sides, Councillor for Ward 16, Riley Brockington, who is also Chair of Ottawa’s Emergency Preparedness and Protective Services EPPS Committee, began the discussion surrounding fire safety.
Brockington explained that a “number of residents” had written to him asking whether the fire department had the capacity to combat a potential blaze at the site.
Chief of Ottawa Fire Services, Paul Hutt, who heard the concerns raised by residents at the most recent ARAC meeting, was also present at last week’s Council meeting to address these points regarding fire safety.
“Any development of this size always comes with risks … For me to sit here and say there’s never going to be an emergency – I can’t say that”, explained Hutt. However, the Fire Chief outlined how Evolugen, alongside the City’s fire department, can best mitigate those risks.
One of the main concerns raised by residents in the lead up to the final council decision is the fire department’s lack of rural hydrant coverage, and how this could lead respondents to being overwhelmed by a blaze at the site.
With Evolugen having not yet submitted a site plan for the project, specific details surrounding fire mitigation measures have yet to be determined.
However, Hutt stated that the fire department would be involved in project design from the outset, and that rurally-sited projects such as these often have some form of reservoir or other local water source in case of a fire.
“We are at the table from the onset to discuss fire emergency and mitigation plans, along with the layout … in the event there is a fire [we will pre-determine] what are the tactics we will deploy at the site,” said Hutt.
‘Not realistic to assume public has same level of technical understanding as industry’
Following on from Hutt, the remaining councillors made their positions known which had an overall theme. Although the majority of councillors were in favour of the project, they felt that Evolugen’s decision to relocate the project was poorly communicated to residents in South March.
After expressing his support for BESS, Councillor for Orléans East-Cumberland Ward, Matthew Luloff, summed up the sentiment of the 24 Councillors.
“I have to be honest with how we got here and what that means for public trust – I don’t believe residents were properly consulted when the proposed location changed – that matters,” said Luloff.
“I think proponents assume the public has the same level of technical understanding and trust in the [energy storage] industry that they do, it’s not realistic,” added Luloff.
Following the discussion, Councillors voted 20-3 in favour of approving the MSR, with one Councillor not present for the vote.
In a written statement provided by Evolugen to Energy-Storage.news, the company described the decision as a “significant milestone for the project” and that it was “grateful for the thoughtful engagement and consideration demonstrated by council and staff throughout this process.”
After obtaining an MSR, Evolugen and the Algonquins of Pikwàkanagàn First Nation will “proceed with a formal application in the near future.”
A recording of Ottawa City Council’s June 11 meeting can be found on Youtube.
