Small Town Week, Episode 5: How the new Six Nations energy storage facility could change Ontario’s grid

(This is the final episode of Small Town Week, a five-part series in which we examine big problems facing small communities.)

In today’s Big Story Podcast, so far this week, we’ve covered problems facing small communities — from housing to the economy to healthcare. Although these issues are felt across pretty much every community, big or small, in Canada, there’s one existential threat we must face globally: the climate crisis.

We are hurtling rapidly towards a point of no return, and that’s pushing us towards alternative ways to create energy. In some communities, this is viewed as a threat, perhaps as dire as the climate crisis itself. In other places, like a First Nation in southern Ontario, it’s a solution to the needs of a province. It’s a chance to turn the tide of our increasing demand for power and move away from reliance on fossil fuels.

Fatima Syed, Ontario reporter for The Narwhal, says the energy project near Six Nations of the Grand River could revolutionize the national grid.

“It could transform the way the grid works, the way we receive our energy and also just the way energy is managed and shaped,” says Syed.

Here’s how the energy project plans on doing it.

You can subscribe to The Big Story podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google and Spotify.

You can also find it at thebigstorypodcast.ca.