Metrolinx scraps Eglinton Crosstown gas plant for ‘innovative’ battery solution

Resident groups in Mount Dennis had been advocating against the facility for more than a year, citing pollution concerns.

Thestar.com
March 28, 2017
By Ben Spurr

Residents of the Mount Dennis community are breathing easier after Metrolinx agreed to scrap plans to build a gas-fired power plant in their neighbourhood.

At a news conference Tuesday at the future site of the Eglinton Crosstown LRT maintenance and storage facility, Ontario Transportation Minister Steven Del Duca and York-South Weston Liberal MPP Laura Albanese announced that Metrolinx would build a battery energy storage system instead.

The province says the facility, which is designed to provide supplementary power to the LRT, would increase reliability of the transit line, reduce its operating costs, and lower emissions.

“This is a dream. This is a ‘pinch me’ moment,” said Rick Ciccarrelli, a member of the Mount Dennis Community Association who attended the announcement.

He said that he and other residents had been pushing back against the planned 18-megawatt gas plant plan since they learned in late 2015 that it was included in plans for the LRT facility on the old Kodak lands.

Ciccarrelli said he was concerned the emissions from the plant would have negatively affected nearby residents. The land where the plant was to be built, which is just north of Eglinton Ave. West and Weston Rd. at the western terminus of the LRT line, is close to single family homes and a pair of residential highrises.

“The immediate air shed is what we were concerned with. People have to breathe the air,” said Ciccarrelli, who praised Albanese as well as local councillors Frances Nunziata and Frank Di Giorgio for helping pressure the government to bring about the change.

The gas-fired plant was supposed to be built by Crosslinx Transit Solutions, the consortium the province has contracted to build and maintain the line, and was expected to reduce energy costs by 40 per cent. But in the face of community opposition, Metrolinx had been discussing alternatives to the plant for at least a year.

Under the new plan, the battery energy storage facility would be connected to the existing hydro grid and be charged during off-peak periods when energy is cheap, such as overnight. The stored energy could then be used to supply energy to the Crosstown throughout the day. The batteries could also provide backup power in the event of an outage, which would be critical to removing trains from tunnels and providing ventilation during an emergency.

The province estimates the facility, which would also include a 90-kilowatt solar panel, could provide back-up power for up to four hours. Chris Tyrrell, Toronto Hydro chief customer care and conservation officer, said that power failures typically don’t last that long.

Tyrell described the battery facility as a “very innovative, creative project” that met both the needs of the local residents and the transit project.

“This community wanted a different option, wanted a greener option,” said Minister Del Duca, who represents the riding of Vaughan for the provincial Liberals.

“Today, I’m here to tell you that the Ontario government has heard you loud and clear ... We worked very hard, we worked very creatively, we went back to the drawing table and we came back with an environmentally sustainable solution.”

Del Duca said the government has yet to procure the new storage facility, and while it’s expected to reduce operating expenditures, he couldn’t say how much it would cost to build. “I don’t anticipate it will be more expensive than the original plan,” he said.

The 19-kilometre Crosstown line is scheduled to open in 2021.