foothills county landowners rejoice after regulator turns down proposal for battery storage build
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snowy owl at frank lake. robin alexander
photo by robin alexander
several landowners and residents in foothills county are pleased after a provincial regulator denied an application to build an energy storage project near high river.
enfinite, a calgary-based company had submitted a proposal in 2024 to construct a 100-megawatt, four-hour duration battery storage facility on land near frank lake, east of high river.
the proposed facility would have covered four hectares of land and store lithium-phosphate batteries in 105 sea cans. it would help supplement the province’s energy supply during times of need.
the proposal had raised immediate outcries from landowners, concerned about a new energy build in an area already ‘very congested for electrical infrastructure,’ according to jasona rondeau, head of the group that argued against the proposal.
concerns had also been raised about the build’s proximity to frank lake, home to hundreds of bird species and listed as one of 597 important bird areas in canada. the lake also supplies 22 counties to the south with water.
“there was no way that we could guarantee that contamination would not get into the water supply,” rondeau said.
after a two-year trial, the alberta utilities commission (auc) denied the proposal in a decision on april 30.
a spokesperson for enfinite shared in an email on may 13 that the company is reviewing the decision.
“we are disappointed with the auc’s decision, particularly given the time and engagement invested in the project over the past three years,” the statement read.
“energy storage plays an important role in supporting grid reliability and alberta’s evolving electricity system,” it added. “while this project will not be moving forward as proposed, enfinite remains committed to developing projects that align with the electricity needs of albertans, regulatory requirements, and local community priorities.”
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the decision elicited a significantly different reaction from landowners and residents who had been fighting the proposal for the past two years.
“there were tears, there was disbelief,” rondeau said of the reaction from landowners. “the reaction was just incredible.”
in an email, the auc stated that they found that the energy storage project’s ‘non-compliance with municipal planning documents and land use policies is material and has the potential to significantly and negatively impact environmental, social, economic and other community objectives for the municipality.’
the area near the proposed location of the enfinite laramide battery storage facility, west of blackie and east of high river, near frank lake.
photo by amy marcotte
foothills county and local stakeholders had shared feedback that the project should be built in an industrial corridor, where there is full-time firefighting coverage, reliable access to year-round piped water for firefighting, closeness to major power infrastructure and zoned land, according to the auc.
enfinite responded that it had considered the industrial corridor for use, but chose alternative sites instead.
the company prioritized ‘minimizing the transmission infrastructure required to connect the energy storage project to the system over compliance with municipal planning documents and land use policy,’ the auc shared in its email.
“there was not enough attention given to the emergency response if there was ever to be a catastrophic fire from the event, give that it’s located approximately between seven and eight kilometres from high river,” rondeau said.
“the ability for foothills county to respond to an event, should there ever be one, was inadequate.”
had the project gone through, enfinite would have used tesla lithium batteries in the facility, which they argued could be hard coded down to 40 per cent operational capacity, to comply with the commission’s noise regulations.
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“if you’re going to be installing a half-billion dollar project here, and it wasn’t going to be able to operate at full capacity, what is the value of that to public interest,” rondeau said. “if you buy a car and you’re able to drive it 100 per cent of the time, then you’re really getting your money’s worth right?”
the decision closes the door on any action to build the project near the wetlands, with the company likely having to put the land they acquired up for sale, she added.
it’s not the first time foothills county has managed to stave off a major energy build in the area.
in 2023, a proposed solar farm in the area was rejected due to the risks posed to birds living in the conservation area close by.
foothills solar, a subsidiary of vancouver-based elemental energy renewables, had proposed the facility for a site east of high river that, had it gone through, would have seen a footprint of 1,500 hectares.
“people here are very educated and informed about these projects and what they can bring,” rondeau said. “we’re probably one of the only areas in the province who have multiple projects placed on us.”
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