Neoen secures 20-year contract for 200 MW/1,600 MWh battery project in Canada

French independent power producer (IPP) Neoen has secured a 20-year contract to provide 190 MW of eight-hour capacity to the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) in the Canadian province of Ontario through a new battery storage project.

The contract was awarded under the IESO’s Long-Term 2 Capacity Services procurement.

The project will comprise a 200 MW/1,600 MWh battery energy storage system, designed to store electricity during periods of low demand and discharge it during peak demand. The facility will be built about 15 km west of Dryden in northwestern Ontario, with construction scheduled to begin in 2028 and commercial operations expected in 2030.

The battery project will be jointly owned by Neoen and Eagle Lake First Nation, an Ojibwe Indigenous community. It will be Eagle Lake First Nation’s first utility-scale renewable energy project and is expected to generate local jobs and investment.

The award increases Neoen’s secured portfolio in Ontario to 918 MW and its Canadian portfolio to 1,168 MW.

In Ontario, the company has also secured a 400 MW, four-hour battery storage project on the traditional territory of Saugeen Ojibway Nation, a 253 MWdc solar project co-owned with Garden River First Nation, and a 65 MWdc solar project co-owned with Matachewan First Nation.

Elsewhere in Canada, Neoen’s portfolio includes the 93 MW (DC) Fox Coulée solar plant operating in Alberta and the 157 MW Mino Giizis solar project under construction in Saskatchewan in partnership with the Anishinabek Power Alliance.

From pv magazine France