BBA wins award of distinction at the OEPA for landmark 1 GWh Napanee battery storage project

BBA won an award of distinction at the 2025 Ontario Engineering Project Awards for its work on the 250 MW/1 GWh Napanee battery energy storage system (BESS) project—one of Canada’s largest projects of its kind under construction.

This top honour for Canadian consulting engineering firms recognizes BBA’s leadership, innovation and engineering excellence in delivering major sustainable infrastructure.

“Innovation isn’t just about technology—it’s about adapting to markets, designing smarter, building responsibly and thinking ahead,” said François Vitez, Vice-President, Power and Renewables at BBA. “This ambitious project is setting a new benchmark for utility-scale energy storage in Canada.”

The Napanee megaproject, a joint venture between Atura Power and Ameresco, will feature Tesla’s Megapack technology. The BESS is engineered to enhance grid reliability and resiliency, displace emissions from natural gas ‘peaker’ plants and drive economic growth in surrounding communities.

BBA has supported the Napanee BESS project from its earliest stages, including feasibility studies, environmental assessments and the detailed engineering design completed in December 2024.

Key innovations include:

• Sustainable noise mitigation: Repurposed excavated soil to build an eco-mindful and cost-saving noise barrier.

• Fire water cistern: Reduced the project’s footprint and improved aesthetics using an innovative fire water cistern design.

• Advanced stormwater management: Designed to mitigate runoff and protect adjacent agricultural and ecologically sensitive lands near Lake Ontario.

Expected to be operational in 2026, the Napanee BESS project will provide 1 GWh of storage capacity—enough to power nearly 62,000 homes for four hours during peak demand.

The project is slated to come online and contribute to Ontario’s power system in early 2026.