(Montreal) Electricity will have to be produced, but the energy transition will also require massive investments in the electricity transmission network, warns the President and CEO of Boralex, Patrick Decostre.
This is a challenge for all Western governments, believes the leader of the Quebec energy producer who has activities in Canada, the United States, France and the United Kingdom.
” There are limits [à la capacité de réseau], he explained during a conference call on Friday to discuss the results of the fourth quarter. Governments are going to have to invest a lot of money. When I say big money, it’s probably billions, but that’s the only way to make the energy transition. »
Questioned by an analyst, Mr. Decostre identifies network saturation as the main challenge in planning medium-term projects. The responsibility for solving this problem does not lie with the energy producers, according to him. “It does not depend on Boralex. Our role is to find the places where it is possible to connect the projects or to find a place where we can take steps to have the necessary capacity to connect in 2027-2028. »
Quebec will also have to improve the capacity of the Hydro-Quebec network while the Crown corporation estimates that it would take 100 TWh of new clean electricity supplies to decarbonize Quebec by 2050.
Last December, the Legault government allowed the state-owned company to push back a 2,300 megawatt (MW) wind energy tender for a few months to prioritize where projects can be connected to the grid. faster. Some locations would have required more time to build the infrastructure necessary for the electrical transmission network.
Advance deadlines
Despite the challenge represented by network congestion in the medium term, Boralex is managing to increase its pipeline of projects. The company has 5,524 MW of projects under development or under construction around the world. This is a 35% increase over last year.
Boralex has managed to advance the schedule of certain projects in a context of labor shortages and inflationary pressure, underlines analyst Brent Stadler, of Desjardins Capital Markets. “In this difficult environment, Boralex once again exceeded expectations with the update on these projects under development. »
The analyst notes that the company has advanced to 2024 the planned time of commissioning the equivalent of 150 MW. “We anticipated that 195 MW could be commissioned in 2024, this figure has been raised to 345 MW, an increase of 150 MW. »
Results
In the fourth quarter, Boralex announced a net loss of 7 million, compared to a profit of 20 million for the corresponding period last year. Revenues, for their part, increased by 68% to 322 million.
The company produced 1,619 gigawatt hours (GWh) of electricity, an increase of 9%. Production is 2% lower than management’s expectations. Wind generation was close to target, but hydro and solar generation were 12% and 3% lower, respectively.
Analyst Nelson Ng of RBC Capital Markets said the company’s fourth quarter met expectations. He points out that the results are better than he had anticipated for the solar and wind energy segment, but that the hydroelectricity and the costs of the company are slightly lower than his forecasts.
Boralex shares lost 90 cents, or 2.54%, to $34.90 on the Toronto Stock Exchange in the afternoon.