CWW Essential: BBA

Your Dam, Your Community’s Future

WaterPower Canada (WPC) is excited to welcome BBA as a VIP exhibitor at Canadian Waterpower Week (CWW, September 25–27).

Canada’s hydro industry faces two major challenges: ensuring long-term reliability of the current fleet and expanding capacity to support the growing role of intermittent, dry renewable energy such as solar and wind.   

As a dedicated industry leader, BBA helps rehabilitate hydropower assets across Canada. From small upgrades to full-scale rehabilitation, including penstock condition assessments and full-scale electromechanical overhauls, BBA delivers innovative, cost-effective solutions that keep these projects on track.

While Canada has the potential to more than double its installed hydropower capacity, new projects face regulatory and social acceptance hurdles. However, pumped hydro can increase capacity with minimal environmental impact and even transform environmental liabilities—such as abandoned mine sites—into renewable energy assets, making them socially appealing. The next step is to figure out how to make them economically attractive?  

BBA’ s extensive expertise in electricity systems and markets has allowed many storage developers build robust, competitive business cases, especially in Ontario’s booming capacity market. While battery energy storage systems (BESS) are leading the charge in these new markets, the hydropower industry has yet to fully seize these opportunities. However, pumped hydro must be seen as a complement to BESS in this transition, not a competitor.

We look forward to meaningful discussions about these critical topics at Canadian Waterpower Week. Our team will actively participate throughout the event, with a spotlight on the following sessions:

Nishant Gehani, Director of Power Systems at BBA, will moderate the session “Long Duration Energy Storage: Should pumped hydro compete or complement battery storage?” Guests include members from the BESS and hydro development sector, Steve Fitzgerald from Ontario Power Generation (OPG), Svetlana Helc from TC Energy and Brad Kyte from Atura Power. Join them on Thursday, September 26 at 3 p.m.

François Vitez, Vice-President of Power Markets at BBA Inc. will be joining a discussion on “Innovative Strategies for Small Hydro Rehabilitation,” led by EnerServ during the Morning Plenary on Friday, September 27, from 8:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.

Visit us at Booth #10 to meet our team and explore how we can further support your efforts in developing or redeveloping hydropower projects.

BBA is headquartered in Mont-Saint-Hilaire, Quebec. To contact BBA or learn more about their work, visit bba.ca.