Canada's largest BESS (Battery Energy Storage System) has been put in on Concession 10 Walpole, Hagersville, 1km away from Walpole North Elementary school.

The road has been torn up and the conditions have been dangerous for over a year now. Resulting in damage to some parents vehicles during transport of their children to and from school. The County has not prioritized this and it has now been moved to Summer 2026.

Not only this, but this is a Lithium Battery reserve, the same size as the one in Moss Landing California that resulted in 1500 people being evacuated, Highways closed, and firefighters could do nothing but watch, because these have to burn and can’t be extinguished. The smoke plume released hazardous gases such as hydrogen fluoride. But not only that, charred fragments of burned batteries landed for miles around, yup metal fallout from the sky…  55,000lbs of metal fragments were found in the weeks following, for up to 1.2 kms away. 

The health hazards are pretty extreme,  Inhalation exposure, heavy metal poisoning, and chemical burns.. and five days a week, for 10 months of the year, these risks could affect the children at Walpole North Elementary school, who are as young as 4yrs old.

I am hoping this circulates to residents of the area, and parents of students who attend.

I am hopeful that with our voices, we can ensure proper evacuation of residents (including our children, while at school) in the event of a fire in this storage facility. Other counties have highlighted the importance of having clear emergency response plans in place when these storage systems are located near homes, businesses and schools.

Communities near such facilities should be educated on potential risks and the appropriate actions to take during emergencies. Walpole North Elementary, multiple homes on Concession 10 Walpole as well as Army Camp Rd (Concession 11 Walpole) are within an evacuation zone for this facility and we have received no information, or plans of what to do in the event something this catastrophic happens.

We are tax payers, we are parents, this is unacceptable. 

 Please sign and lets see if we can make a change..

(Please know that this comes after several attempts made with Haldimand County Council, and a recently declined attempt to speak at a Council Meeting.