Ottawa Battery energy storage System 2

Energy storage fundamentally improves the way we generate, deliver, and consume electricity. Energy storage helps during emergencies like power outages from storms, equipment failures and, accidents. But the game-changing nature of energy storage is its ability to balance power supply and demand instantaneously – within milliseconds – which makes power networks more resilient, efficient, and cleaner than ever before.

BESS systems are considerably smaller footprint compared to other clean technologies such as solar or wind farms. On average, a 25MW BESS system occupies 1 acre of land.

BESS have to apply with municipal, provincial and national permitting and codes and standards. The following is a non-exhaustive list of industry standards our Project will comply with:

• UL 9540 Standard for Energy Storage Systems and Equipment
• UL 9540A (Test Method for Evaluating Thermal Runaway Fire Propagation in Battery Energy Storage Systems)
• National & Provincial Building Code
• National Fire Code Canada
• Underwriters Laboratories of Canada
• NECB 2017 National Energy Code of Canada for Buildings
• ULC (Underwriters Laboratories of Canada)
• UL 1741 Standard for Inverters, Converters, Controllers, and Interconnections
• UL 1973 Standard for Batteries for Use in Stationary, Vehicle Auxiliary Power and Light Electric Rail (LER)

BESS are certified to UL9540 and UL9540A standards to prevent fire spread and suppression at the cell and the BESS system level. BESS enclosures have built-in fire suppression system (FSS) solutions. The FSS system is composed of smoke detectors, gas detectors and fire agents, whose main function is to prevent fire spread in time when any open flame signal or gas signal appears in the battery system and send out an emergency fire alert signal to the EMS system.

These BESS do not use lead acid batteries, and therefore do not leak.

Mechanical failures include physical damage that could create heat or a fire. Hazards associated with lithium-ion battery energy storage systems are centred on the flammable organic electrolyte and its highly reactive electrodes. However, if the batteries are punctured, there is a risk of electrolytes being exposed to air, which will result in a chemical reaction, leading to thermal runaway and combustion.

Other potentially hazardous wastes would include fire residue, debris, and fire extinguishing agents leading to contamination of soil and underground water via leaching, burying, dissolution, infiltration and runoff. The management of these risks starts at the cell level, with the selection of battery chemistry, and compliance with local AHJs and global certifications. This is where UL9540A certification becomes critical to BESS projects. Any other hazardous leaks will be contained in the enclosure.

BESS systems are subject to third-party certification to ensure they comply with all of the required codes and standards.

BESS facilities have an expected lifespan of 22 years, or more, with equipment replacement and repowering. At the time of decommissioning, the installed components will be removed and reused/recycled, where possible, and the site restored. All removal of equipment will be done per the applicable regulations and manufacturer recommendations. The below summarizes the decommissioning procedure that would be enacted at the end of project life for each component. 

BESS – Disconnect all above-ground wirings. Remove all BESS enclosures and support structures.

Medium Voltage (MV) Stations, Substation – Disconnect and remove all electrical equipment. Remove the inverter and associated equipment. Remove high-voltage substation transformer. Remove concrete foundations for MV Stations and substation components. 

Access roads and other components – Consult with the property owner to determine if access roads should be left in place for their continued use. If roads are to be removed, the aggregate materials will be excavated by a backhoe/front-end loader, along with any underlying geotextile fabric. Compacted areas restored.

Underground cables – Underground electrical lines running between the inverters and the substation will be removed. All foundation materials will be removed.

This scale of BESS projects generally take between 6 to 12 months from the start of construction till commissioning.

As a part of the Environmental Assessment permitting process, a Noise Impact Assessment for the Project will be conducted. In this report, the ambient noise survey will identify the ‘noise envelop’ for the Project location based on zoning, proximity to highways and other factors that may affect sound levels in the area. Once a survey is conducted, any potential risks of the BESS exceeding the ‘noise budget’ and violating any provincial norms would be mitigated based on suggested noise mitigation efforts that may be required to successfully secure an environmental permit.

The BESS enclosures will have built in fire suppression system (FSS) solutions. The FSS system is composed of smoke detectors, gas detectors and fire agents, whose main function is to prevent fire spread in time when any open flame signal or gas signal appears in the battery system and sent out fire signal to EMS system. BESS will be certified to UL9540 and UL9540A standards to prevent fire spread and suppression at the cell and the BESS system level. The management of any risks will start at the cell level, with selection of battery chemistry, and compliance with local authorities having jurisdiction (AHJs) and global certifications.

Compass has also engaged the local Fire department for a screening of our site and to provide additional training to equip firefighters with knowledge of the BESS fire protection standards.

Electric fields are produced whenever a conductor such as a power line is connected to a source of electrical voltage. Magnetic fields are produced whenever an electrical current flows in a conductor. An example of this is the plugging of a lamp into a wall outlet in a home. When the lamp is plugged in, a voltage is induced in the cord to the lamp that causes an electric field to be created around the cord. In this example, if the lamp is turned on allowing electricity to flow to the lamp, a magnetic field is created around the lamp cord in addition to the electric field.

For the BESS system, the magnetic field will vary with the amount of power being charged or discharged, and the time of the day when the charging and discharging would occur. However, the strength of both electric and magnetic fields will decrease rapidly with distance from the source – for each doubling of the distance from the EMF source, the EMF will drop by a factor of eight. Electric fields will also diminish from absorption by any vegetation (including low-growing vegetation) located in its path because the plants effectively ground the electric fields.

There will be a short distance from the BESS to the connection point where the EMF would be created. More importantly, there are few to no buildings in the vicinity of the connection point.

If deemed necessary by authorities having jurisdiction, measurements of magnetic fields could be made before construction of the Project and after the Project begins operating to assess whether EMF from the Project’s electrical infrastructure would extend into the neighbouring area.

Construction of the Project would happen in phases, and be carried out by small teams of 5-10 attending to site work in a ordered manner to avoid any traffic management issues at the site. The phases would generally focus on the civil works, mechanical installation, electrical connection, landscaping. It was highlighted that after construction and commissioning of the project, there would be minimal employee traffic to the site as the BESS will be remotely monitored and scheduled site visits would happen quarterly to ensure stable operations and effective preventive maintenance.

The number of containers would be dictated by the final technology selection for the Project. It can be estimated that the average 40ft container would be capable of supplying 1MW of capacity and 4 MWh of energy.