Under an agreement announced Oct. 27, Rodan Energy Solutions Inc. plans a 50-megawatt-hour battery for St. Marys Cement Inc. (Canada)’s Bowmanville plant in Ontario, aiming to help the facility reduce its grid draw during peak periods.
Rodan says it will assume development capital and operating risk, then develop, own and operate the system through its FlexOps platform. St. Marys Cement will have no upfront capital outlay, according to the announcement. It did not disclose the project cost, agreement duration, battery power rating, dispatch details or a construction and commissioning timetable.
The battery is designed to charge when electricity demand is lower, then help the plant rely less on grid power during peak periods while maintaining essential operations. Rodan said the approach could also reduce reliance on grid electricity when its carbon intensity is higher, but gave no estimates for cost savings or emissions reductions.
Ontario’s Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) forecast in June that provincial peak demand could approach 26,000 megawatts in 2026 under extreme weather. The IESO said energy storage and demand-side management would help meet demand. Under Ontario’s Industrial Conservation Initiative, eligible large consumers can reduce their share of global adjustment costs by cutting consumption during the province’s five highest-demand hours. Rodan’s announcement does not say whether the Bowmanville plant participates.
Rodan described the planned system as Canada’s largest behind-the-meter battery installation, a ranking that has not been independently verified. The project is the first of its type for Votorantim Cimentos North America, Rodan said, and could help the company assess similar opportunities at other operations.
Votorantim Cimentos has set a 2050 target for carbon-neutral concrete and a 2030 target for net Scope 1 emissions of 475 kilograms of carbon dioxide per tonne of cementitious product. “Rodan owns and operates the asset, so our performance is tied directly to delivering meaningful outcomes for our client,” said Paul Grod, Rodan’s president and CEO.
