Statement by Emily Hunter, Senior Program Manager, Ontario Climate
Toronto | Traditional territories of the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishinaabeg, the Haudenosaunee, and the Wendat – Today, Premier Doug Ford and Minister of Energy and Mines Stephen Lecce announced a major milestone for the Skyview 2 Battery Energy Storage System, as ‘Canada’s largest battery-storage procurement’ with over 400 MW facility in Edwardsburgh Cardinal, in partnership with the Algonquin of Pikwakanagan First Nations.
While Ontario urgently needs more battery storage projects—especially those developed in partnership with First Nations—the government is doing little to ensure they are in any way linked to a clean energy future. Without renewable power feeding the grid, Ontario’s big battery plan will lead to burning more gas to charge up the batteries.
Battery Energy Storage is an essential component of a modernized electricity system and vital for backing up renewable energy. But today’s announcement represents battery greenwashing. Ontario’s energy procurement process is prioritizing new gas plants while wind and solar face mounting barriers. That’s not clean energy leadership.
Ontario’s Long-Term 2 (LT2) procurement, the largest in provincial history, was meant to add renewable and storage capacity to replace aging gas plants. But in June 2024, when Stephen Lecce became Minister of Energy, he opened the LT2 process to gas-fired generation under the guise of a “technology-agnostic” approach. The government has since stacked the deck in favour of gas by designing a point system that rewards fossil infrastructure while penalizing new renewable and storage projects, undermining the competitive procurement the LT2 process was meant to deliver. If the process wasn’t stacked in favour of gas, clean energy would win on price alone.
If Minister Lecce truly wants to strengthen Ontario’s “clean-energy advantage,” his government must pair its storage and transmission announcements with a clear commitment to pursuing the lowest cost sources of new electricity, which happens to be renewable generation—not doubling down on fossil fuels.
Until Ontario commits to a renewables-first strategy, today’s announcement is just another case of greenwashing—promoting the image of progress while keeping Ontario stuck in the past.
Backgrounder:
- Ontario’s long-term energy plan projects nuclear generation rising from ~50% today to 75% by 2050, driven by refurbishments at Bruce, Darlington, and Pickering, plus new reactors at Bruce C, Darlington SMR, and Wesleyville.
- Gas-fired power will expand significantly to fill supply gaps until new nuclear comes online, driving electricity-sector emissions from 2.5 Mt CO₂e/year (2017) to 20 Mt CO₂e by 2030, remaining high through the mid-2040s.
- Non-hydro renewables (wind + solar) are expected to decline after the 2030s, despite being the lowest-cost and fastest-growing global energy sources.
- Battery storage plays only a minor, peripheral role in Ontario’s plan, never exceeding a few percent of system capacity, underscoring the government’s lack of a true renewables-first strategy.
ABOUT ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENCE (environmentaldefence.ca): Environmental Defence is a leading Canadian environmental advocacy organization that works with government, industry and individuals to defend clean water, a safe climate and healthy communities.
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Tamara Latinovic, Environmental Defence, media@environmentaldefence.ca
