The governments of Ontario and Canada announced a partnership with the Six Nations of the Grand River Development Corporation, Northland Power, NRStor and Aecon Group in a press conference Friday to bring the largest Electricity Battery Storage Project in Canada to Six Nations of the Grand River.

The 250-megawatt (MW) Oneida Energy storage project will enter into a 20-year contract with the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) and is expected to reduce emissions by between 2.2 to 4.1 million tons, the equivalent of taking up to 40,000 cars off the road.

Six Nations’ Chief Mark Hill celebrated the announcement stating that Six Nations has been willing to collaborate with the federal and provincial government.

“We are pleased to see this project move ahead with the support of the Ontario government. Six Nations of the Grand River Development Corporation’s involvement in The Oneida Energy Storage Project signals the importance of Indigenous participation in clean energy initiatives as we continue to combat climate change. This project will generate employment opportunities and significant revenue for our community, and we look forward to its completion.”

Six Nations of the Grand River Development Corporation CEO Matt Jamieson spoke on the community benefiting on the project as an investor and his hopes to help bridge the infrastructure gap on Six Nations with returns from this project.

“Not only are we an investor in the project, which means there’s going to be an economic return. Those economic returns will go a long way to help plug things that are important to our community.”

“Right now we are facing a 1.6 billion infrastructure gap in our community. We can’t wait for funding for federal transfer payments and we need to take control of our own destiny and this is an opportunity to do that,” he said.

During Friday’s press conference Premier Doug Ford said the Oneida Energy Storage Project is slated to have construction completed in 2025.

For the full CJKS story, listen below: