How often do we get a second chance at getting in step with the times? A chance to exhibit the foresight for which later generations will be grateful?

Prince Edward County Council declined just such a chance in its Planning and Development Committee Meeting of 21 June when it voted to remove an amendment to bring the County’s Official Plan into line with the draft Provincial Planning Statement regarding Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS).

Our first chance to look to the future came in January of this year, when two BESS proposals were considered. The idea of a battery power storage system installed in the backyard seemed to freak out County Council and fear of the new prevailed. As the Mayor put it: “there are limitations to the amount of knowledge and we’re having to decide about technology we’re not fully educated on.”

At the turn of the last century, people were afraid of the “horseless carriage” as well.

What is a BESS? If you are lucky enough to have a generator that automatically kicks in during a power outage, you already have an idea. Imagine a backup generator for the entire County. And imagine it does not noisily burn propane, and turn all the grass around it into straw. And imagine that it works for everyone, not just those able to afford their own. A BESS is a battery that kicks in with stored energy when the power goes out.

In its January decision, Prince Edward County declined to host a large 250 megawatt BESS. Perhaps that was for the best. This would have been an energy way-station, to serve the entire Ontario grid. A BESS of this size is now coming to Napanee, where it makes more sense. It will be installed adjacent to the massive Lennox and Napanee gas-powered electricity generation plants, and take advantage of existing infrastructure. In the big picture, like the flawed idea of proposing that Picton Terminals become a major Great Lakes port, we may have been too far out of the way and without the required connections to the main grid.

In its January panic, however, Council also rejected proposals for two much smaller storage systems at Athol. These were smart proposals that would appeal to any County citizen who uses the electrical grid. The proposed smaller BESS were designed to smooth out the disparity between high demand and low supply at the local level, rather than the provincial, and to be safe and low impact.

Battery storage is a highly regulated industry. The space required for a small plant is 0.2 acres, including the fence. The batteries proposed use the safer Lithium Iron Phosphate. Small connected battery modules prevent “thermal runaway.” The Fire Department was consulted and did not object.

Why did we say no to this? And why, half a year later, have we said “it’s too soon” again?

Council decided not to include support for BESS projects in its Official Plan for two main reasons: lack of knowledge about new technology and worry about losing control over what happens in the County’s jurisdiction.

There is no excuse for lack of knowledge: why has council not learned anything in the intervening months? Control over jurisdiction is a political question to which there are solutions: namely, in a more detailed and thoughtful wording of the amendment in question. Instead of looking to the future by taking care of these concerns in advance, Council has instead included a direction to staff to make a report: the very report that could have been guiding the current amendment, had it been proactive.

The future is electric: demand for electricity is increasing and the County needs to have a resilient grid that will reliably deliver energy in moments of peak demand. Instead of preparing for this, now we must wait for a report that will confirm that the Athol BESS proposals were sound.

When does “it’s too soon” become “it’s too late?” The next time my generator kicks in, burning more propane, I will be thinking it did not have to be this way.