In his opening speech, François Legault reiterated his great interest in the construction of new hydroelectric dams. A decision must be made during this mandate, he said, and the Prime Minister wants to make it “a real social debate”.
In order to achieve carbon neutrality in 2050, Québec will need 100 terawatt hours (TWh) more, or the equivalent of half of Hydro-Québec’s current production capacity. Last September, the CAQ government confirmed its intention to launch new calls for tenders for 3,000 MW of wind energy. This corresponds to less than 10% of the forecast needs due to the intermittent nature of the sector. The Prime Minister spoke of bioenergy: this contribution is all in all marginal. To put things into perspective, remember that the energy needs forecast by Hydro-Québec between now and 2050 represent the equivalent of 12 Romaine complexes.
Ontario is moving to nuclear power, including emerging small modular reactor technology, while retaining its large nuclear power plants. François Legault said that several states chose this sector because they had no choice. Quebec would have a choice. In the written version of his speech, the Prime Minister affirms that Quebec still has “vast hydraulic resources”. In September, he asked Hydro-Québec to provide him with a list of rivers to be developed. We have to believe that he has in hand a revised evaluation of the hydroelectric potential that remains to be exploited. Economically, of course, which is far from obvious.
In 2041, the supply contract for the Churchill Falls mega-power station in Newfoundland ends, providing us with some 25 TWh of energy at extremely low cost. “It will be negotiated now,” said the Prime Minister. “I wouldn’t want to be in a weak position to negotiate. Hence the importance, in particular, that he attaches to new dam projects. The problem is that the costs to build these new plants are likely to be very high. It is not for nothing that Hydro-Québec has not developed these projects to date. New expensive energy sources can only push up the electricity rates paid by Quebecers.
In his speech, the Prime Minister nevertheless mentioned, first of all, energy efficiency and sobriety as a means of meeting needs. However, we cannot say that Hydro-Québec has had enormous success with its energy efficiency programs.
As reported The duty in early November, Hydro-Québec’s subsidiary Hilo, which offers residential customers winter peak management systems, fell far short of fulfilling its promises, which forced the government corporation’s senior management to take control of it.
François Legault likes to praise Quebec for having the lowest greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions per capita in North America. First, New York State—who would have thought? — does just as well thanks to nuclear power. And then his point of comparison should not be oil-producing countries like the United States and Canada, but rather Sweden, a Nordic country of 10 million people, which emits half as much GHG per capita as Quebec. That’s the real picture: a counter-performance that needs to be remedied.