Hydro-Québec announces that it wants to intensify the assessment of Québec’s hydroelectric potential in order to meet the growing demand for electricity. It also confirms that it is currently studying the hydroelectric potential of the Petit Mécatina river located on the North Shore, in a press release published on Tuesday.
“A summary analysis is underway with respect to a few sectors. This first stage of the evaluation will be completed shortly for the Petit Mécatina River, on the North Shore,” reads a press release released Tuesday afternoon.
In its 2009-2013 strategic plan, Hydro-Québec identified the “Petit-Mécatina complex” in its “project portfolio”, including the Magpie River. It was then a question of a 1200 MW project whose commissioning was planned “post-2015”. In the following strategic plan, however, potential dam projects were not identified.
In 2018, the Crown corporation had also identified the “Petit-Mécatina complex” in a short list of potential sites that could accommodate a new hydroelectric project in Quebec. The Petit Mécatina River empties into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, near Chevery, on the Lower North Shore.
“The next step will lead us to engage in dialogue with local communities and, over the coming months, to carry out reconnaissance visits to this sector,” Hydro-Québec said in its press release.
The producer intends to involve the indigenous communities and the local communities concerned in discussions of “level of confidentiality: very secret”. No power plant project has been confirmed to date. “The fact that we are conducting preliminary studies does not automatically mean that a project will be developed,” specifies the state corporation.
Hydro-Québec states that the Grande rivière de la Baleine, the Nottaway River and the Magpie River are not currently the subject of preliminary studies.
Further details will follow.