PowerBank Corporation has provided the Township of Armour with notice that they will be appealing the Township’s decision not to allow the company to proceed with a Battery Energy Storage System (BESS).
Notice of the Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT) appeal was received by the Township via email on February 4, 2026. The appeal seeks to overturn council’s decision not to allow planning approvals to enable PowerBank Corporation to proceed with a BESS at 219 Peggs Mountain Road in Burk’s Falls.
According to municipal documents, the applications were denied due to two overriding issues: fire safety and the environment. But PowerBank maintains in their letter of notice that “these are matters that are appropriately studied, addressed and resolved through the site plan approval process.”
The planning application process to the Township to approve PowerBank Corporation’s project began in November 2022. Four separate public meetings were held. There has been loud opposition to the project by community members. Concerns have included pollution, as well as concerns about the risk of fire, the drain on resources, and the impact on first responders.
PowerBank’s appeal maintains that there are no technical concerns with the BESS, the location, or its function that warrant refusal of the applications, and points out that the Township’s own consultant found the applications acceptable from a technical and compatibility perspective. Further, PowerBank points out that through the public consultation process, it adequately met its obligation and addressed concerns raised by the public.
PowerBank based its appeals on five prerequisites, which it says mitigate the Township’s refusal:
- The proposed BESS facility operationalizes the efficient use of energy and resources that support provincial interests.
- The applications are consistent with the Provincial Planning Statement, which “establishes a policy context for the creation of communities that plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and that provide opportunity for the expansion of energy supply systems.”
- The applications conform with the Growth Plan for Northern Ontario, which encourages and promotes land use for renewable energy, particularly in lands already designated for such use.
- Township of Armour Official Plan, by its own definition, currently supports the use of private lands for alternative or renewable energy systems.
- The applications represent good planning and are in the public interest.
Mayor Rod Ward, addressing council at its February 10, 2026, meeting about the appeal, stated: “The proposal does not adequately address public safety and hazard management, emergency response planning, emergency services capacity, firefighter training, infrastructure, and inter-municipal and cross-boundary impacts. The application was absent of finalized emergency response planning, firefighter training, and stormwater management documentation.”
Ward explained that the Township has engaged professional services to support its defense.
At this point, there is no timeline for the appeal or how quickly the Ontario Land Tribunal will schedule hearings.
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I have to ask why Armour TWP was picked as the location for the battery storage site. Did the company find this location on their own or did someone ask them to locate there? At any rate the TWP turned them down and that decision should stand.
It is unfortunate that a northern township has to hire a a big boy lawyer to handle a a big boy company.
when the decision was decided by the local representatives.