BC Hydro is moving forward with British Columbia’s first utility-scale battery energy storage facility on Vancouver Island, near Duncan, with a planned minimum capacity of 100 megawatts to help manage growing electricity demand and strengthen grid reliability. The project will store excess renewable energy and discharge it during peak periods, supporting a more flexible and resilient power system as Vancouver Island continues to grow. The facility will be located on BC Hydro-owned land adjacent to the Vancouver Island Terminal Substation to simplify connections and minimize development impacts, and is targeted to be operational by 2030 as part of the province’s modernization under BC Hydro’s Powering Growth plan. A procurement process is underway, with supplier qualifications to be issued on July 30, 2026, followed by a request for proposals from qualified bidders later in the year. The initiative emphasizes leveraging existing infrastructure to maximize efficiency while laying the groundwork for future utility-scale battery storage across British Columbia.