Hydro-Québec has pulled the Petit Mécatina River hydroelectric project out of its drawers, where it has been sleeping for 20 years, to advance it to the next stage, that of field studies, which will begin shortly.
This involves the construction of two power stations that would transform water from the river that flows into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, 400 kilometers east of Sept-Îles, which would add 1,200 megawatts (MW) to the production capacity of Hydro-Québec.
“The fact that we are conducting preliminary studies does not mean that a project will be developed,” the state corporation said in a statement. It remains that this is the first time that a new hydroelectric project has been considered by Hydro-Québec since the construction of the La Romaine complex, at the turn of the 2000s.
For its part, the Legault government is thrilled.
This is exactly what we want!
Francois Legault, Prime Minister
“Sophie Brochu and Hydro-Quebec have just announced that they are going to do preliminary studies to build a dam at Petit Mécatina, that they are going to do more energy efficiency, that they are also going to increase the capacity of the current dams, and more wind turbines,” said Premier François Legault on Tuesday, as he made his way to the Blue Room for question period.
Delighted with Hydro-Québec’s announcement, the Minister of Energy and the Economy, Pierre Fitzgibbon, underlines that Québec needs 100 additional terawatt hours (TWh) of energy to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 – that’s 50% of Hydro-Québec’s current production. And at his ministry, “there are still 10,000 MW of interesting projects [de la part d’entreprises], and we have 1000 available. It is certain that we must work hard on » increasing the production of the state company. Hydro-Québec and the government are “converging” towards this objective, he insisted.
The project, which will be the subject of geographic and hydrological studies, “could be different from the one that has already been considered,” said Maxence Huard-Lefebvre, spokesperson for the state-owned company.
After meetings with Aboriginal communities and chiefs, the Minister responsible for Relations with First Nations and Inuit, Ian Lafrenière, concludes that there is on their part “the desire to carry out energy development and economic development, and also to save the planet, to protect the planet. They are the people best placed to see the impacts of climate change. They made it clear to us. […] Wind projects and hydraulic projects have been presented to us, it’s true, but we’re never going to negotiate in the public square”.
In the case of the Petit Mécatina dam project, the indigenous communities “are ready to participate”, “but nothing has been concluded yet”, pointed out Pierre Fitzgibbon. “Clearly, we will have to work with them. According to Ian Lafrenière, Hydro-Québec and the communities “are already in communication with each other”.
Pierre Fitzgibbon maintains that the Aboriginal leaders he met are unanimous.
[Les communautés autochtones] want to participate with us as partners, not as beneficiaries. And that is a big change.
Pierre Fitzgibbon, Minister of the Economy
“I showed myself open to that,” he added, while recalling that “obviously, Hydro-Québec will be the prime contractor.”
It is still too early to estimate the cost of the project and the cost price of the electricity that the new structure would produce. The last major hydroelectric project in Quebec of a similar size is the construction of the La Romaine complex, which took place from 2009 to 2022. It required investments of $7.4 billion to produce 1,500 MW, the cost price of which per kilowatt hour is 6.5 cents.
needs to be satisfied
Hydro-Québec’s announcement is an assessment of the game plan developed a year ago by president and director Sophie Brochu, who has since announced her departure and whose succession is still pending.
In this plan, Hydro-Québec estimated that 100 TWh would have to be added to the current electricity production capacity of 200 TWh to meet the demand generated by the energy transition.
On this occasion, the CEO had warned that future supplies would cost much more, around 11 cents per kilowatt hour, while Quebecers pay around 8 cents per kilowatt hour and the industrial rate is even lower.
The most economically interesting hydroelectric structures have already been built and the sites that remain to be operated in Quebec are further away from consumption centers or present technical challenges.
Field studies for the Petit Mécatina project should last between 12 and 18 months, the spokesman for the state-owned company said yesterday. Hydro-Québec specified that none of the other sites already considered, such as the Great Whale River, Nottaway and Magpie, are the subject of preliminary studies.
Hydro-Quebec has also announced that it will revise upwards its energy efficiency objective, set at 8.2 TWh last year. She now feels she can do much more, which many stakeholders had been calling for. A more ambitious target will be set, which will be somewhere between 8.2 TWh and 25 TWh, which is the theoretical potential for achievable energy savings.
According to the Minister responsible for Hydro-Québec, Pierre Fitzgibbon, a new energy efficiency target is made possible by the development of technologies that make it possible to better insulate buildings and reduce their energy consumption.
Pricing modulated according to the hours of the day, which the government plans to generalize, will also “encourage people to consume less, to pay less, businesses the same thing. You have to look at everything,” he said.
Hydro-Québec’s plan also provides for the modernization of existing hydroelectric power stations to increase their production capacity by 2,000 MW. Three plants are currently being renovated to produce an additional 128 MW, those of Carillon, Rapide-Blanc and Outardes-2.
Finally, the use of wind power must contribute to helping Hydro-Québec meet the growing demand for renewable electricity. Six wind farm projects were selected following a call for tenders, for a total additional capacity of 1,150 MW. Another call for tenders, for 1,500 MW, is underway and others will follow, Hydro-Quebec said. The objective is to double the wind generation capacity from the current 4000 MW to 8000 MW.
Hydro-Québec’s strategic plan is for the period 2022-2026 and when announcing her departure, Sophie Brochu said she hoped it would survive her. “It is important to remember that the plan was developed with the participation of several internal and external stakeholders”, saw fit to remind Mr.me Booklet yesterday.
Hydro-Quebec CEO Sophie Brochu will step down on April 11. As the process to find him a successor is still ongoing, the Legault government will soon appoint an interim boss, most likely from among the current vice-presidents.