During Tuesday’s special session of council, Prince Edward County Council decided to pull the plug on a pair of battery electric power storage projects.
The decision mirrors a previous council resolution to deny support to a much larger battery energy storage system planned near Picton.
The two storage facilities were intended to be built across the road from each other, at 500 and 493 Mowbray Road.
The battery systems were planned to complement solar power farms already on the properties, and the pair would have an estimated combined total capacity of 24MWh of power.
During the council meeting, local residents voiced their concerns about the battery energy storage projects, with many residents expressing concerns about fire safety, as similar facilities in the United States have caught fire and were difficult to extinguish.
A deputation was also made by the company seeking to build the battery systems where they explained some of the precautions they take to minimize the risk of fire, and also listed some benefits for the community such as increased reliability in the power grid and the construction and maintenance creating local jobs.
Councillor John Hirsch spoke against supporting the projects, agreeing with the safety concerns brought up by the public.
“Having heard all of the comments from the audience and all the correspondence we’ve received and so on, I find myself remarkably in agreement with virtually every objection that has been raised by the public and feel that we just don’t have adequate information at this point and have too many safety concerns, environmental concerns,” said Councillor Hirsch.
Mayor Steve Ferguson also spoke about how he felt that they just didn’t have enough info about the technology to approve the system with the risks presented.
“I think we’re being put into a position of making a decision about technology we are not fully educated on and I’m not prepared to take the risk without having more knowledge about the technology and the potential threats,” said Mayor Ferguson.
The issue was decided in a recorded vote, with Councillors St. Jean, Harrison, Pennell, Maynard, and Nieman all voting in favour, with the rest of council voting against. The motion did not pass.
