Power lines, roads, sewers: St. Thomas gears up for growth ahead of EV battery plant

Although the first battery won't roll off the assembly line for about three more years, St. Thomas is working quickly to gear up for the arrival of the massive Volkswagen/PowerCo electric vehicle battery plant. 

This week Hydro One announced the start of an environmental assessment process for a proposed transmission line to the industrial park where the new plant will be located. Called the St. Thomas Line, the new 20 km power line will connect to an existing hydro line from London near Highway 401. 

It will bring a secondary power source into Yarmouth Yards, the name given to the new industrial park that will house the VW plant among other industries. 

The new power line is the latest in a series of infrastructure upgrades underway to lay the ground work for a battery plant that's expected to employ 3,000 people once it's fully up and running, said Mayor Joe Preston.

"With St. Thomas's growth, whether it's housing or commercial or anything else, more power is needed to our neighbourhoods," said Preston. 

There will be public consultations next week in St. Thomas and Belmont about the new hydro line. You can get more information on that here. 

'Beehive' of activity

Mike Kerkvliet, St. Thomas's manager of business development, posts regular video updates about the plant's construction on a web portal called devoted to the project called  The Beehive. As name name suggests, the 1,500-acre site is a flurry of construction activity. 

In his updates, Kerkvliet talks about plans for railway spurs, drainage ponds and a power substation for the site. Roads that will serve the plant already have appropriate names such as Conductor Crossing and Electric Avenue.

Preston said city staff are working to ensure the infrastructure is in place so the plant can operate smoothly once production begins.

Wastewater capacity upgrade needed

One challenge is a need to increase wastewater capacity for the town of 43,000. A report that came to council in December said St. Thomas's growth will exceed its current water treatment capacity by about 2032.

Part of the challenge is that the town has to build the infrastructure now, but won't see any new tax revenue from the power plant for another five years.  

"We've got to prepare the services ahead of time and we're prepared to do so," said Preston. 

"We're having incredible growth but we want to plan the growth and be smart about it," he said. "We've seen many municipalities just grow as the city's expanded. We've got to be smart about it."

London is headed for an 8.4 per cent tax increase next year mainly due to inflationary costs and a big boost to the police budget. St. Thomas managed to hold its tax increase to just under three per cent.  

Paul Jenkins, CEO of the St. Thomas and District Chamber of Commerce, said the plant has stirred a lot of questions, but also excitement.

"Change can be unsettling, " said Jenkins. "Overall the sentiment is this is going to be good for the community," he said. "This is going to be good for all of southwestern Ontario."