Dartmouth battery project aims to make the most out of renewable energy
DARTMOUTH, N.S. — A grid-scale battery project proposed in Dartmouth will help meet renewable energy goals, according to Nova Scotia Power officials.
At an HRM environment committee meeting this week, Susan Smith and Debra McLellan from NSP briefed councillors on a grid battery project they’re proposing on their property by Spider Lake near Dartmouth.
“We know that a mix of energy solutions is needed and will be required to achieve government’s environmental targets which includes phasing out coal by 2030 and also reaching 80 per cent renewables,” Smith told the committee on Thursday.
The batteries would store power at times when generation is high to use during peak times. It will store whatever energy is on the grid, whether that is wind-generated or coal, with the goal to maximize the amount of renewable energy that is on the system, explained McLellan.
NSP is looking to install these batteries at three locations in the province: Spider Lake, Bridgewater and near Wolfville.
In Spider Lake, the battery site would be located right beside an NSP switching station and a transformer would be installed to connect them.
McLellan said the batteries are not to act as a power backup, but rather to store energy and feed the grid when there is high production and low demand (like in overnight hours).
“It’s very fast responding so we have less than a 200 millisecond response time so it can act very quickly if there’s a disturbance on the grid,” McLellan said.
When asked how much of a contribution the three battery sites would make overall, McLellan explained that a peak load on a day in February would be around 2,400 megawatts and all three sites would contribute 150 megawatts. That’s about a five per cent energy contribution at peak times.
Fire and noise concerns
Coun. Pam Lovelace (Hammonds Plains – St. Margarets) pointed out the site is not far from a wilderness area and had questions about the fire risk, the “explosive capacity” as well as an emergency plan and risk assessment.
McLellan said a lot of recent design work has been focused on safety and functionality. For example, she said there would be spacing between the containers to make sure if there is an issue, it would be isolated.
There are also early detection systems monitored around the clock at the control centre that would pick up on any temperature deviations.
“We have a lot of safety and protection built into the design and that will continue through the operation and maintenance of the site.”
As for noise, McLellan said it will emit humming like other substations. McLellan added they will have required noise thresholds and will be documenting and measuring it.
Timeline
Last July, the federal government announced funding for up to $130 million for NSP to install batteries throughout the province. A construction contract has not yet been awarded.
Construction will take about four months, McLellan said, but with installing connections and testing, it would take about a year for it to be fully up and running.
Informational postcards have been mailed out to nearby residents by Spider Lake and NSP plans to hold an open house on the project next month.
