Wind towers could appear in the landscape of the Nicolet region, in the Centre-du-Québec region
At least four producers are currently criss-crossing this sector in order to identify settlement sites.
According to the regional county municipality (RCM) of Nicolet, contracts have even already been signed with farmers wishing to host towers.
Among the targeted villages are Saint-Léonard-d’Aston, Saint-Zéphirin-de-Courval and Sainte-Perpétue. The Drummondville and Victoriaville sectors are also in the crosshairs.
Hydro-Québec is currently in the process of calling for proposals to purchase 300 megawatts of wind power.
The MRC of Nicolet is completely in favor of serving as a land of welcome.
“It’s a great opportunity we have. As I often say, it will ultimately depend on the citizens, but the companies will meet with the citizens to properly explain the project. There may have been times when wind turbines had a greater impact, but now the practices have changed,” argued the prefect and mayor of Nicolet, Geneviève Dubois.
The Union of Agricultural Producers (UPA) is perplexed. She had recently made an outing to warn against the installation of towers on the precious and fertile agricultural land of Centre-du-Québec.
“The producers we met and the promoters too, through the press release we issued a few weeks ago, are well aware that, as a union organization, our position is that we do not want see that in the dynamic agricultural zone. So from there, the promoter will have to demonstrate when the time comes before the Commission de protection du territoire agricole du Québec. This is when we will intervene,” explained Daniel Habel, president of the UPA du Centre-du-Québec.