BC Hydro is moving forward with British Columbia's first utility-scale battery energy storage system, a project that will deliver at least 100 megawatts of flexible capacity near Duncan on Vancouver Island and mark the province's first serious grid-scale storage deployment.
A Powering Growth Milestone
The project is the first battery storage investment advancing under BC Hydro's Powering Growth plan, the strategy the Crown corporation is using to meet rising provincial electricity demand through conservation, asset optimisation and new clean generation, transmission and storage. BC Hydro has identified up to 500 MW of potential battery storage capacity across British Columbia to improve reliability and support peak demand.
Duncan Site And 2030 Target
Following a reliability, cost, environmental and stakeholder review, BC Hydro selected a site adjacent to the Vancouver Island Terminal Substation near Duncan as the preferred location, taking advantage of land it already owns to keep integration costs and permitting risk low. Service is targeted for 2030. The utility expects to own and operate the BESS itself, but will run a competitive process for design, construction and potentially long-term maintenance.
Procurement Timeline
On July 30, 2026, BC Hydro will issue a Request for Supplier Qualifications (RFSQ) to pre-qualify experienced developers. A pool of qualified respondents will then be invited to a request for proposals expected later this year. BC Hydro President and CEO Charlotte Mitha said the project will let the utility use technology that stores electricity when it is available and dispatches it when customers need it most.
Part Of A North American Storage Wave
The move lands as utilities across North America accelerate battery buildouts to firm up growing loads driven by AI data centres, electrification and grid modernisation — a trend also visible in recent projects covered in our reports on the Salt River Project Marigold Energy Center in Arizona and Brookfield's USD 7 billion Aypa Power battery storage acquisition.
Reporting based on coverage from the Government of British Columbia, BC Hydro, CBC News and Energy-Storage.News.