I was disappointed in the editorial in the Gazette on June 29th(Council drags its heels on energy storage systems) .

In making the decision concerning the BESS projects, generally speaking the County wasn’t opposed to storage technology for the grid being deployed here. What they were opposed to was the use of Li-Ion batteries. I personally was neutral to the proposals until I read for myself what the experience with these technologies was. There have already been a number of toxic and intense fires with these installations in various countries. Due to the way Li-Ion batteries fail (a chemical reaction), it is simply not possible to extinguish them using water or foam.

In addition, none of these proposals would have kept the County’s power running in the event of a provincial grid failure. The primary purpose of storage technology is to store energy in off-peak periods where there is a surplus of generating capacity. That collected energy is drawn down during peaks instead of building more generating capacity. They are not backup systems.

Storage technologies will continue to have a technical and economic role in the grid as they have for decades. However the industry needs a safer technology when using Li-Ion batteries for large scale applications with a set of safety standards to go with them.

Council made the right decision.

Doug McGregor

South Marysburgh