The Globe and Mail reports in its Wednesday edition that the agency which operates Ontario's electricity system has announced procurements of power from seven new battery energy storage projects and increasing generation capacity at existing natural-gas-fired plants. The Globe's Matthew McClearn writes that in what it called the largest procurement of storage capacity in Canada, the Independent Electricity System Operator said it will purchase 739 megawatts of storage, predominantly from two proposed battery facilities in Hagersville and Napanee, Ont. The IESO also announced expansions of two existing gas-fired plants in Western Ontario, with a combined new capacity of 318 MW. Ontario faces energy shortfalls primarily owing to falling output from its nuclear fleet, which has long met more than half of the province's electricity needs. The Pickering Nuclear Generating Station, with six operating reactors producing 3,000 MW, the oldest of which entered service in the early 1970s, is scheduled to retire in 2025. Other reactors are out of service for refurbishment. Boralex's battery energy storage project near Hagersville is scheduled to begin operations in 2025, with a capacity of up to 300 MW for four hours at a time.