Energy Storage Key to a Green Energy Future
New Tesla Megapacks will Bolster our Ability to Capture Energy
By Glen Fillmore, May 5, 2023
We can feel the excitement building in the community for the Burchill Wind Project.
As the people of Saint John have marvelled in watching the turbines go up to create the first utility-scale wind farm in the city’s history, all of us at Saint John Energy have marvelled along with them.
The Cranston Avenue substation and switching house was built in 1923 and served the entire City (at a time when we had much smaller borders).
This is a remarkable time, and I want to congratulate Natural Forces as Burchill’s developer for bringing this project to life.
It is also exciting, and meaningful, that the wind farm will be owned by a company born out of an Indigenous partnership. Natural Forces have joined with Neqotkuk, formerly known as Tobique First Nation, to shepherd Burchill into a new era for this city.
"This partnership is a great example of how government, industry and Indigenous communities can work together for mutual benefit,” says Neqotkuk Chief Ross Perley. “The people of Neqotkuk are pleased to expand our renewable energy portfolio and proud to produce green renewable energy to the city of Saint John."
New era of renewable energy
Burchill marks the launch of a new era of renewable energy in Saint John. This is what is so exciting for us as we work with determination to build a green energy future for our customers.
Key to Burchill and to that green energy future is energy storage. Renewable energy sources like wind and solar are plentiful but not always available – storage solutions allow for that energy to be harnessed for times when the wind isn’t blowing and the sun isn’t shining.
Key to Burchill and to that green energy future is energy storage.
Saint John Energy was proud to be the first in the world to deploy a Tesla Megapack, a utility-scale battery pack we installed three years ago at our Millidgeville substation.
And now thanks to support from Natural Resources Canada, as part of nearly $50 million in funding for Burchill, a series of new Tesla Megapacks will be installed to bolster the ability to capture energy for when we need it most.
Largest in Eastern Canada
In fact, three new Megapacks will be installed on our system. – each of them 1.5 times the storage capacity and 1.5 times the energy output of our original Megapack.
This gives us the largest battery capacity of any electrical utility in Eastern Canada to date, though we know other utilities are planning to expand their storage capacity in the coming years. We applaud them for their vision.
This gives us the largest battery capacity of any electrical utility in Eastern Canada to date
The batteries not only allow us to store renewable energy but to curb peak energy demand – those times of the heaviest demand on our grid.
Because fossil fuel generation plants are brought online to satisfy the demand, we pay significantly higher amounts for that energy. And bringing those plants online can as much as double the carbon emissions associated with electricity generation in the province.
The batteries allow us to store up electricity at times of low demand and use it to head off or soften peak demand, which lowers our costs and avoids greenhouse gas emissions.
In an interesting coincidence, the newest batteries will be pressed into service in early 2024 at our Somerset substation, the site where we erected the very first substation in Saint John a full century earlier.
An exciting future and a proud past meet, all in service of the citizens of Saint John.
Glen Fillmore is Executive Director, Strategic Growth and Transformation at Saint John Energy.
Banner image above: Touring Burchill and the currently operating Tesla Megapack battery, March 2023, Natural Forces, Neqotkuk and Saint John Energy.