Alliance to Protect West Carleton

We are residents of Fitzroy Harbour and area concerned about the local environment, our health, the safety of our homes, and the larger environment. We support protecting the environment. We support the use of low carbon energy sources undertaken in safe, effective, and cost-effective ways. Our group is guided by trusted, reliable, peer reviewed scientific research. We share a willingness to work with everyone for the good of the community and ask for your support. 

We believe that every community within every ward in the city of Ottawa has the right to determine what is best for them by working together with their elected councillors and mayor. We are 100% opposed to Fitzroy BESS. We believe the benefits are far outweighed by the risks.

Approximately 1,600 people live within 3 km of the proposed Fitzroy BESS site. Between May 28 and August 13, 2024, six hundred and twenty-nine people signed our pen and paper petition asking our city councillors to deny a Municipal Support Resolution for this proposal.  There was a consensus among our signature collectors that the petition was signed by 80-85% of the people we approached. Many of them spoke passionately about their opposition to Fitzroy BESS. 

Among our legitimate concerns are fire suppression preparedness and costs, accountability and liability for damages, well water contamination, property values, environmental pollution as well as light and noise pollution. Although the chances of catastrophic damage are rare, it is unclear who would be legally responsible for reparations if the worst happens. 

Fitzroy BESS is a proposed project by Gatineau based Evolugen, a subsidiary of Brookfield Renewable Power Inc., a multinational NY based investment company. They want to build a 250 MW Battery Energy Storage System for lithium-ion batteries within 3 km of the villages of Galetta and Fitzroy Harbour. It would be on 14 acres of an 80 acre parcel of rural land at the corner of Homesteaders and Galetta Side Rds. The batteries would be stored in 290 shipping-container-sized steel boxes. The cost of the proposed project is $650 million and would be funded by the IESO (Independent Energy Supply Operator), the crown corporation that regulates energy in Ontario.

On the evening of Nov.1, 2023 Evolugen hosted an information meeting about Fitzroy BESS, mandated by the Ministry of Energy, at the Fitzroy Harbour Community Centre to explain their proposed project. The meeting had not been well advertised and most attendees heard about it by word of mouth. Evolugen expressed surprise at the large turnout. One of the presenters from Evolugen stated that the site's proximity and ease of access to the main power grid was "a major reason why we want the Homesteaders Sideroad/Galetta Sideroad location for our site". (Lower infrastructure costs would also increase their profit margin.) 

The vast majority of the 18 or 20 attendees who addressed the gathering were opposed to the project. Only when pressed with questions about the safety of LFP (lithium iron phosphate batteries, the type of lithium-ion battery that Evolugen appeared to be leaning towards), did the presenter admit that the risk of fire, albeit rare, would be greater "if proper protocols were not followed." In other words, human error can increase risk. Most of the 70 residents in attendance were shocked by the lack of meaningful consultation that evening. The answers provided by Evolugen were often vague and lacking in detail, amplfying the level of mistrust. Our legitimate concerns remain unaddressed.