TC Energy purchases land in Wasaga Beach

The Town of Wasaga Beach is advising the community that TC Energy has recently purchased property in the west end, along the shore of Nottawasaga Bay.

TC Energy is a publicly listed company in the initial stages of an alternative energy project.

The company purchased the Wasaga Beach property from a private owner.

The site is off Shore Lane, just east of Constance Boulevard. See the site on Google Maps.

The land in Wasaga Beach is to accommodate transmission cables from the company’s proposed pumped energy storage facility, which if approved would be at the Department of National Defence’s Fourth Canadian Division Training Centre, near Meaford.

The purpose of this news release is to provide the community an overview of the project.

The town received a written project update from the company on April 12, 2021, confirming the recent purchase of property in Wasaga Beach. The company said that a number of approvals and extensive public consultation would be required before the project can go ahead. For a project timeline, see the company’s webpage. The company proposes that operation of the pumped energy storage facility and related infrastructure start in 2028. 

TC Energy describes pumped hydro storage as “pumping water from a low-lying reservoir during periods of low demand for electricity, typically at night, to a higher-elevation reservoir. When electricity demand is greater (and therefore electricity is more expensive), operators release water back to the lower reservoir through turbines that generate electricity (similar to hydropower from dams).”

Residents can learn more about the proposal on TC Energy’s pumped storage project page.

From the company’s main project site in the Meaford area, one of the options TC Energy is exploring is to move the electricity to the main grid through lakebed cables in Nottawasaga Bay to underground cables at the Wasaga Beach site and then to the Hydro One transformer station in Stayner. The company has told the town that preliminary feasibility work is underway.

Council received an information report about the project just over a year ago on March 12, 2020, during its regular Coordinated Committee meeting. The report provided an overview of the project. At the time, the report noted Wasaga Beach would be a potential location for transmission routing. Residents can review the report on the town’s website.  

Company officials tell the town that should the project move to the environmental assessment phase, TC Energy will begin a broader engagement program in the municipalities affected by the proposed transmission route.

Residents with questions about the project can contact the company at 1-844-551-0055 or by e-mail at energy_storage@tcenergy.com. TC Energy encourages community members that are interested in the project to sign up for their project mailing list by visiting the website. Approvals rest with the province and its agencies, as well as the Government of Canada.

“The town will continue to monitor this proposal and will continue its dialogue with TC Energy. We encourage interested residents to stay informed by monitoring the company’s website,” Mayor Nina Bifolchi said.

UPDATE

On July 28, 2021, TC Energy said it has reached agreement with the Department of National Defence, that subject to conditions and regulatory approval, allows for the development of a transformative 1,000-megawatt clean energy storage project on federal lands.

Read the company's news release.

See our Q&A.