CENTRE WELLINGTON – Centre Wellington will reap the benefits of having a battery energy storage facility in the township – to the tune of about $160,000 per year.
With permission from council at its Sept. 15 meeting, the township will sign a community benefit contribution agreement with Elora BESS LP.
The company reached a similar agreement with the Centre Wellington Community Foundation (CWCF).
The company, owned by Aypa Power, has agreed to pay the foundation $300 per megawatt, which should amount to $60,000 per year.
It has also agreed to pay the township $800 per megawatt, expected to total around $160,000 a year.
The agreements will be in place for as long as the company is located in the township, which is expected to be 20 years.
CAO Dan Wilson explained to council that Aypa has reached similar agreements with other municipalities that host their battery energy storage facilities.
He likened them to payments the township receives from the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation for hosting the Elements Casino in Elora.
Wilson said staff will set up a BESS community benefit reserve fund and use it for capital projects that improve the activity, health and wellness of the community.
The program will come into effect when the BESS facility is built and operational; council will approve the projects.
“I see this as a good news story,” Wilson said.
The CWCF will establish an Aypa Community Sustainability Fund that will be used for projects that complement the township’s capital spending, such as:
- encouraging broad participation and accessibility to safe community recreation activities (such as sports, fitness, youth leadership, camping/outdoor education, play groups, arts and cultural activities), and/or;
- enhancing natural environment spaces used for community recreation activities (like trails and green spaces).
CWCF board chair Randall Howard said in a phone interview that Aypa reached out to them even before the project was approved by the Independent Energy System Operator in 2023.
“When it got approved, we developed the agreement to build a long-term fund over 20 years that will be permanent,” Howard said.
Elora BESS is still finalizing the site plan, and approvals for an official plan amendment from Wellington County are expected later this month.
The township approved the project in May.
“For us, the real launch is when they go into operations,” Howard said.
He added the CWCF agreement is separate from the township’s and the foundation will decide how its funds will be spent.
Typically with long-term funds, most remain in a reserve and gain interest before any part of it is spent.
So while the two pots of money are separate, Howard said he hopes there will be “synergies” that allow the funds to go further or have greater impact.
As well, Wilson will sit on the granting committee and the foundation will report to council on how the money’s been spent.
The foundation formed in 2009 and has received some large donations in recent years.
“It’s very exciting because we’re building,” Howard said. “Coming out of COVID, the community need has really grown.”
Howard said Aypa is not obliged to make community contributions and has offered to do so.
“It’s great that they have that mindset to benefit the communities where they’re located,” he said.
“I like their long-term thinking.”
