The prefect of the MRC of Mékinac, which is to host the TES Canada “green hydrogen” project on its territory, fears that Minister Christine Fréchette’s Bill 69 will open too many doors to the private energy industry. “There are no clear guidelines,” argues Caroline Clément.
In interview with The Duty At the end of a two-week consultation period during which nearly 40 groups were able to comment on the draft law “ensuring responsible governance of energy resources”, Mme Clément, who is also mayor of Grandes-Piles, in Mauricie, does not hide his concern.
In his eyes, the legislative text, carried by the Minister of Economy and Energy, Christine Fréchette, does not offer “a precise framework for self-production” of energy. A choice that risks directly affecting his MRC.
The TES Canada hydrogen production project involves installing more than a hundred wind turbines in a dozen municipalities scattered throughout the Mékinac and des Chenaux RCMs, near Shawinigan. The energy they produce must be used exclusively to power the promoter’s plant, which will also be supplied with electricity by Hydro-Québec.
The ambitions in the region of the shareholder behind the project, Tree Energy Solution, give rise to “doubts” for Caroline Clément. “With Hydro-Québec, what we know is that there really is a framework. Even if this framework can move a little, can be modulated over time, it is still very transparent, very clear, clean and precise,” she emphasizes.
“Hydro-Québec is not going to sell, Hydro-Québec is not going to go bankrupt,” she continued. “In this case, we don’t have any defined guidelines.”
Article 38
In reading Bill 69, Mr.me Clément also noted that he plans to allow private players to sell their surplus energy to a consumer “adjacent” to their land. “Will that also open doors to sell to others? A private developer who decides who sells his company, will the agreements be respected? It creates a lot of uncertainty at that level,” she said.
When Tree Energy Solutions announced its desire to set up in Mauricie at the end of 2023, the Union des producteurs agricoles was among those who sounded the alarm about the imminent arrival of the project, estimated at four billion dollars. In parliamentary committee last week, the agricultural union explicitly requested the withdrawal of section 38 of the bill, which introduces this provision on the sale of electricity by the private sector.
The main shareholder of the project, Tree Energy Solutions, may say that it has no intention of distributing its electricity, but the prefect of Mékinac remains skeptical. “I always start with the premise that people are in good faith and will keep their word, but at some point, the fact remains that the primary objective of a company like this is to make a profit,” she emphasizes.
Parliamentarians will soon begin a detailed study of Bill 69. They will then have the opportunity to amend it before its adoption and entry into force.