A Montreal-based alternative energy firm has won final approval to run a power storage plant near London that uses giant batteries to store electricity for the grid.

Renewable Energy Systems Canada Inc. said Tuesday it has final certification to bring online the company's second energy storage system - Amphora, which will be the first in Canada.

Renewable, also known as RES Canada, developed and built the system, located in central Strathroy, west of London. The project is a 2.6MWh lithium battery that will provide a service called "frequency regulation" to Ontario's electricity system.

The project uses lithium iron phosphate, a version of lithium battery chemistry, and is made up of two containers that house batteries weighing about 20 tons each. A third container converts the battery power for the grid.

"RES Canada is pleased to bring our first Ontario energy storage project online," said Peter Clibbon, senior vice-president of RES Canada, based in Montreal. "We believe investments in developing energy storage infrastructure are critical to improving the flexibility and efficiency of an increasingly complex grid system."

With increases in wind and solar power planned over the next several years under Ontario's green energy policies, storage projects such as Amphora are needed to help store the power generated from sporadic wind and solar projects.

Amphora and other similar installations now being built or designed in Ontario are also key to evening out the spikes and shortfalls in the provincial grid caused in part by the new green energy installations.

"Alternative technologies on the power grid are gaining momentum," said Bruce Campbell, president and CEO of the Independent Electricity System Operator, which runs the provincial grid. "This is the first grid-connected battery on the IESO's system and the experience we gain will help demonstrate how this technology can help us balance power flows, and ultimately maintain reliability."

The independent market operator recently selected five companies to build about a dozen pilot projects designed to capture, store and release wind and solar power. The projects across Ontario would make it easier for the grid to cope with rapid fluctuations in power and save the energy for use when the wind isn't blowing or the sun doesn't shine.

The Amphora project is named after an ancient type of vessel, that was one of the world's oldest known storage technologies. An RES Canada's affiliate built the company's first 4MW system in March in Sunbury, Ohio for the U.S. state's grid operator PJM.

The global market for energy storage is expected to grow rapidly in the coming years so new technologies being developed in Ontario could help grow the economy's exports.

Navigant Research estimates that worldwide revenue from advanced batteries for utility-scale energy storage applications will grow from $164 million this year to more than $2.5 billion in 2023.

Giant-battery power storage site opens in Strathroy

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