Jonathan Cheszes sees great opportunity in the renewable energy development business. It's a sector he'll now be immersed in as the president of Toronto-based Compass Greenfield Development. 

Founded earlier this year, the development subsidiary was formed out of Compass Renewable Energy Consulting Inc., a rare initiative in the energy consultancy field. As implied by its name, the company takes untouched land and develops clean energy projects on the space.

To date, it has eight megawatts (MW) of operating solar projects and 45 MW of battery energy storage projects under contract, plus over 300 MW in its development pipeline, all in Ontario and Saskatchewan.

Made up of six people on the development side, “We’re a small organization that tries to do big things,” Cheszes said in an interview with Sustainable Biz Canada.

From diamonds to solar panels and batteries

Just as Compass made a significant turn, Cheszes’ career also veered significantly from its original path. Armed with a commerce degree from McGill University in Montreal, he first went to work for his family’s diamond wholesaling business.

However, he harboured a strong interest in working in the environmental field. “It’s something that would have more personal meaning to me than selling diamonds,” he explained.

To fulfill his ambition, Cheszes studied at York University in Toronto, getting a master’s degree in environmental studies that concentrated on renewable energy and energy efficiency.

After a three-year stint at the Ontario Power Authority (now merged with the Independent Electricity System Operator) working on power conservation and its feed-in tariff program, Cheszes went to Navigant Consulting (now Guidehouse). At Navigant, he helped analyze the renewable energy procurement programs and contracts in Saskatchewan, British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec for a major Canadian pension fund.

In 2013, he joined Compass as a consultant for clean energy developers and investors, securing projects and establishing a partnership with the Apitipi Anicinapek Nation in 2019. The partnership with the First Nation group led to Compass owning a project for the first time, Cheszes said.

His career trajectory then landed him as a managing director and the president of Compass Renewable Energy Consulting.

A few U.S. projects were in development, but Compass returned to its roots as it saw opportunities in Ontario in early 2022, Cheszes explained. From 2022 to 2023, it secured participation in the Ontario energy procurement for battery energy storage.

Why Compass stepped into greenfield development

In May, at the urging of Cheszes, Compass launched its development subsidiary.

The consultancy company has helped grid operators such as the Independent Electricity System Operator and SaskPower overcome technical and regulatory problems for projects, he said.

In parallel, Compass provided development services that led to it owning its own projects, so it formed the greenfield development business offshoot. In addition to his personal interest in pursuing development, “I knew that as our development activities grew, it created a perceived conflict with our clients,” Cheszes explained.

The development business focuses on scaling-up distributed and small-scale utility projects in a cost-competitive way, he said. It takes a portfolio and structured approach toward development, procurement and execution. This means Compass has a repeatable process to bypass many of the challenges it can face with smaller projects.

Ontario and Saskatchewan were chosen for its first developments because the provincial markets are signalling the demand for clean energy and batteries at the scale Compass specializes in, he continued.

Compass has seven operating solar projects; four battery projects and three solar projects are in development.

Its largest project so far is the Weyburn I and II solar energy site in Saskatchewan that generates 2.8 MW of power. Put into service in December 2023, Cheszes said it employs single-axis trackers and bifacial technology that maximize energy generation.

Upcoming projects include three solar energy sites in Saskatchewan that exceed 130 MW of generation, and six battery projects in Ontario totalling approximately 46 MW of capacity.

The battery and labour problem

Looking forward in the industry, Cheszes identified two problems.

The first is the limited number of clean energy workers.

“There is this high demand for clean energy development and there’s not a huge talent pool,” he said. In response, Compass focuses on finding people who like working in small, team-based environments and “punch above their weight” by thriving in challenging situations.

A tight supply of batteries is another limitation. Tariffs on the metal and products comprised of aluminum is a concern for many Canadian renewables developers, he said.

“Tariffs will drive up costs. Lead times are an issue because there’s global demand for a lot of these products.”