Cheap electricity must continue to serve the economic development of Quebec, according to the newly sworn in mayor of Baie-Comeau, Michel Desbiens.
In this city on the North Shore, located at the mouth of the mighty Manicouagan River, dams are part of the landscape. “Here, they are in our backyard,” said Michel Desbiens, elected on February 20 at the head of Baie-Comeau. I like to say that I can almost see Manic-1 from my patio in the summer, so it’s not very far from our house! »
In Baie-Comeau, the echoes of the debate on Quebec’s energy future are increasingly mixed with the roar of the turbines. Surplus hydroelectricity, once abundant in a province so rich in rivers that several poets have drawn their inspiration from it, is now melting visibly before the challenges of the green transition.
In this context, Quebec no longer has the means to offer its electricity at a discount to entice industries, according to the outgoing president of Hydro-Quebec, Sophie Brochu. In Baie-Comeau, however, a sluggish economy is counting on the arrival of energy-intensive industries to catch its breath.
“Over the past 10 or 15 years, we have lost a lot of jobs,” explains the new mayor. The first temporary closure of the paper mill has dragged on since 2020 without giving any sign of rebirth. The Alcoa aluminum smelter, where Michel Desbiens worked for 32 years, including 9 as union president, has also closed its old potrooms over the past decade, which has eliminated hundreds of jobs.
“When I started there in 1992, we were 2,200 union members. Currently, there are around 700, underlines the mayor. Our economy has already been better. In recent years, there have not been many houses built… Everything is more expensive, and our incomes are stagnating. We need to revive our economy. »
For Michel Desbiens, this revival necessarily involves cheap energy, an essential asset in the Baie-Comeau channel and which has contributed to the growth of its economy for more than half a century.
A new energy-intensive economy
The new cryptocurrency or green hydrogen industries aim in particular to take root in the city. These projects, sometimes costing billions of dollars, would make it possible to replenish the municipal coffers, but they would also require energy — a lot of energy.
Germany’s Hy2Gen, to name but one, is studying the possibility of establishing an impressive green ammonia production site in Baie-Comeau. Construction was to start this year, a deadline postponed to 2025 for commissioning now scheduled for 2028.
“We are awaiting government announcements on the granting of energy blocks for certain hydrogen projects” before moving forward, explains by email Cyril Dufau-Sansot, general manager of the company in Canada.
“The ecosystem” that the German company plans to build in Baie-Comeau will require a power of 300 megawatts, specifies Mr. Dufau-Sansot, “for an energy volume of approximately 2.5 terawatt hours [TWh]. This is more than a third of the 7 TWh that Hydro-Québec estimates it will have to produce in addition by 2029.
Other similar projects gravitate around Baie-Comeau, ambitious, but very energy-intensive. “Hydroelectricity should be used to develop the Quebec economy,” believes Michel Desbiens. It’s always been the same, and it has to stay that way. »
For him, the cheap energy offered to industries brings significant benefits not only to regions like his own, but also to the entire Quebec state.
“In a region like Baie-Comeau, when we look at the taxes paid by the guys who work at the aluminum smelter and the money they spend on goods and services, I think that the kilowatt-hour sold for a few cents brings in a lot more , continues the mayor. Low-cost energy is one thing, but there is a lot of money that goes to the Government of Quebec other than through the electricity rates offered to industries. »
Priority transport
A native of Ragueneau, the new mayor of Baie-Comeau easily won the by-election that became necessary after the departure of Yves Montigny for the National Assembly under the banner of the Coalition avenir Québec. Michel Desbiens won more than 70% of the vote by rallying a team affiliated with all parties around his campaign. “When I get into something, it’s to win,” emphasizes the man who wants to make economic development the cornerstone of his mandate.
A newcomer to politics, he believes that he navigated for nine years in the mysteries of power in his trade union role. “A position of union president is very political: I had to work with three different governments to advance the interests of the factory,” he says. He now intends to use this experience to defend the 21,000 Baie-Comois and Baie-Comoises.
“A problem that must be resolved quickly” is air transport, which is deficient due to the lack of frequency and reliability, according to him. “When people from our SMEs have a meeting on Tuesday in Quebec City or Montreal, they have to leave on Monday and come back on Wednesday. It’s not been very productive weeks, maintains Michel Desbiens. It’s been going on for years. »
He welcomes the fact that his predecessor at the head of Baie-Comeau is now responsible for the file within the government. “My relationship with Yves [Montigny] is very good: we are the same age and we were graduating at the same time at Polyvalente de Baie-Comeau. We are going to make a good duo to advance the files in Quebec. »