Toronto to House Large-Scale Battery Site in The Spring

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Toronto is the city of diversity and progress, but now it’s potentially the city of batteries. A new industrial site in Toronto’s Port Lands is home to two large boxes on stilts. The Ontario-based company Deltro has built these two “boxes,” which are actually lithium-ion batteries. In the spring, these batteries will be plugged into Canada’s electricity grid.

This is the first utility-scale Canadian energy storage project and symbolizes the country’s determination to rely on battery technology. The $30-million dollar endeavour also reflects Canada’s trust in battery technology as cheaper, safer, and more reliable than traditional technologies.

Spring forecasts:

When the battery is plugged in this Spring, it will be responsible for balancing the grid and keeping the power at the North American frequency standard of 60 hertz. This will prevent brownouts when high demand follows.

Previously, output had to be adjusted at large hydro dams, far from where most of the power is utilized.

This initiative was possible because of the price and energy density of the newest lithium-ion batteries. If Deltro Energy used traditional lead acid batteries, the area of the project cite would have been up to ten times larger.

The bigger picture:

We use energy easily. Let’s just say that consumption has never been a problem. But capturing and making energy is a different ball game.

Batteries can be integrated into existing power systems to store and stabilize electric grids. This new battery exemplifies this.

The giant t-sized battery banks are to be known as Bessies. Just imagine the two giant units holding thousands of individual lithium-ion batteries. When they are tethered together, they can store multiple megawatts of power.

This is very commercially and industrially viable because it allows companies and independent electrical operators to store power when it cheaply produced, and then use it during times when electricity costs are highest.

The two “basins:”

The Basin 1 and 2 each contain 720 individual batteries for six megawatt hours each. They will be connected to Toronto Hydro’s Basin substation.

This project not only helps manage energy, it also protects land that has relatively poor use due to inadequate environmental conditions.

We have witnessed the successes of large battery storage facilities, such as Tesla’s giga factory in Australia. These efforts should be commended and should hopefully inspire environmental sustainability. Still, we seem to err on the side of caution when it comes to large-scale sustainability.

Toronto is making incredible strides when it comes to sustainability. Green rooftops, and climate change commitments are at the forefront of political agendas. And so, perhaps, it makes sense that batteries and means of electric sustainability follow suit.

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About Author

Nadia Zaidi is a freelance multimedia journalist whose work is featured in several print and digital publications. She previously developed and hosted a show on youth issues for community television, and produces short-documentaries for public outreach. She holds a bachelor's degree in Journalism from Ryerson University.

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