“Source of pride,” “symbol of perseverance,” and “catalyst for the community.” More than a decade after the project was presented to Hydro-Québec, construction of the new forest biomass cogeneration plant—which will produce electricity from wood residues from the local sawmill—is finally beginning in the village of Opitciwan. An event that raises a lot of hope and paves the way for the development of this Atikamek community.
“This is a historic day that will mark the community. I am extremely proud to be here before you to announce the start of work,” said Chief Jean-Claude Mequish, who participated on Wednesday in the official groundbreaking ceremony on the site of the future power plant, very close to the sawmill.
Near the entrance to the village of Opitciwan, in Haute-Mauricie, after more than three hours of driving on a bumpy forest road from Saint-Félicien, you can see the diesel generators that have been supplying the village with electricity since the 1980s.
In the village, the hum of the diesel power plant is a common noise, illustrates Attikamek Denis Clary, who shares a very personal anecdote in an interview with Duty. A few days ago, he had “gone to pick blueberries” in a canoe, a kilometre and a half from the village. “The wind was from the north, and I was to the south, and I could hear the noises of the community. And what I heard the most was the noise of the generators,” he says. “In terms of smells, when the winds are from the east, it brings the smoke towards the community, you can smell it when you walk around.”
That’s not counting all the backup generators that are installed in the community of 2,500 residents, because power outages have been common here for a few years, explains Mr. Clary, who is leading the project for the new biomass cogeneration plant as president of the Onimiskiw Opitciwan Limited Partnership. “The outages were starting to happen frequently, especially in the winter.”
When there are power outages, he explains, many families lose the contents of their freezers, which often contain several weeks’ worth of food, because the nearest town is more than three hours away. Patients on oxygen or on dialysis at home are on high alert and sometimes have to go to the health centre. Schools, the sawmill and the band council are closed.
Last winter, the engine of one of the four diesel generators broke down. The result: a two-week outage during which there was electricity on and off, for a few hours a day in each neighborhood. The current system is downright “failing,” explains Mr. Clary, and the network struggles to supply. During peak periods in winter, it is not uncommon for the sawmill to be asked to close for a few days to allow electricity to be supplied to the houses. In this context, it is impossible to develop new projects for the village. And yet, some projects, such as building new houses, are essential.
A long wait
The Attikameks of Opitciwan have been raising the issue for a long time. In 2010, the band council noted that the generators “were starting to fail all the time,” recalls Mr. Clary. Studies were conducted to find the best solution. The biomass cogeneration plant project quickly became the obvious choice.
On one side, we had trucks that traveled hundreds of kilometres each week to transport diesel to power the generators. And on the other, we had trucks that travelled the other way to dispose of sawmill waste—bark, mainly—in other villages in Quebec to produce electricity. “When you explain that, people see how illogical it is,” says Paul Michaud, the project’s financial and administrative director.
However, it took more than a decade for the project to get the go-ahead from Hydro-Québec. “If we go back to 2010-2012, relations were not ideal, there was no political will at Hydro-Québec,” explains Mr. Michaud.
The impasse continued until July 2021, when the Opitciwan team sat down with Hydro-Québec’s CEO at the time, Sophie Brochu. “The meeting lasted an hour. The president looked at her team and said, ‘I don’t understand why this project isn’t working. You’re going to come to an agreement and find solutions,'” recalls Michaud.
A year and a half later, in December 2022, the agreement was reached. And today, the ministers and project officials gathered in Opitciwan for the official groundbreaking ceremony announcing the start of work.
“This is more than just a project, it is a safe and renewable source of energy needed by every family and a real engine of economic development,” said Chief Mequish in front of about fifty dignitaries and villagers. “Our dream is becoming a tangible reality. We look to the future and see the legacy that our children will be proud of.”
The Minister responsible for Relations with First Nations and Inuit, Ian Lafrenière, welcomed this project which was developed “by and for the community”, recalling that the First Peoples were at the forefront of the impacts of climate change, and that the transition from a fossil fuel to biomass “will help enormously”.
The plant is expected to be commissioned in July 2026. Until then, the population will still feel the effects of outages and a saturated network. But they can now look to the future.
Chef Jean-Claude Mequish hopes to increase the pace of house construction, build an inn to accommodate tourists and the many contract workers who come to work in the village, as well as a greenhouse to have access to fresh vegetables. “The power plant project will bring a lot of projects,” he says proudly.