Sharon Michaud, Christine Rose and Raymond Leduc protested outside the North Glengarry Township offices.
A small group of residents gathered outside the North Glengarry Township building March 24, to voice opposition to a planned Battery Energy Storage System (BESS).
The BESS is to be located on Skye Road, adjacent to Highway 417 and will be comprised of 11 battery storage containers, taking up five of of the 15 acres of agriculture land rezoned to accommodate the facility. The facility is located within close proximity to the Hydro One station which, according to the plans by Compass Energy Consulting, will help to maintain energy costs in Eastern Ontario.
Richard Hudon, a North Glengarry resident and press officer for the SAVESDG group, said citizens are using legal channels and will continue to dispute council’s approval until it is repealed.
The BESS was not on the March 24 council meeting agenda. Despite that, there were some questions posed to council members regarding their decisions for upcoming changes to North Glengarry, one of those being the planned BESS, and complaints about a lack of notification to residents.
When contacted, representatives from Compass said residents within one kilometre of the BESS were notified in the fall of 2023, inviting the public to a meeting at the Dunvegan Recreation Centre. Compass said it would be willing to organize another public meeting, prior to construction starting, to listen to community concerns and assure safety standards would be met for the facility.
While Mayor Jamie MacDonald agreed the Township might need to expand notifications and is already making added efforts to promote public meetings, he said that residents also have a responsibility to keep informed on happenings in North Glengarry. MacDonald added even if the Township were to repeal the zoning bylaw change to permit the construction of the BESS, council strongly feels Compass would appeal that decision. The firm could then approach the provincial government, which supports the need for battery storage facilities in Ontario, to intervene, taking the responsibility of the decision away from the municipality.
