(Montreal) Quebec will give more time to Hydro-Quebec to publish a call for tenders for the production of wind energy. The projects would not have been carried out under optimal conditions if the government corporation had not had more time, according to the Minister of Economy, Innovation and Energy, Pierre Fitzgibbon.
Hydro-Québec was to publish the criteria for two calls for tenders, announced last August, for a 1,000 megawatt (MW) block of wind energy and another 1,300 MW block of renewable energy, by December 31. .
However, the Crown corporation needs more time to establish the criteria for the call for tenders. “What Hydro-Québec has realized is that if there is no additional data, there could be requests for projects in places where it would not be possible to do it quickly,” said explained Mr. Fitzgibbon.
By giving Hydro-Québec more time, the Minister believes that the projects will be carried out more quickly in a context where the Crown corporation anticipates that it will need new supplies in 2027. faster for deployment. Even if we are going to lose, two, three months, we are going to gain time. »
Hydro-Québec anticipates that Quebec electricity demand will increase by 25 terawatt hours (TWh) or 14% between 2022 and 2032, according to its 2023-2032 supply plan that it filed with the Régie de l’énergie in November .
The publication of the tender is now expected by the end of March and the projects could be commissioned around 2027.
The Legault government is thus allowing the state-owned company to “turn around, to prepare a good map, to prepare the ground for places where it is on the one hand socially acceptable, where there is wind and transport can be done relatively quickly,” the minister summed up.
The location of the projects is a determining factor in the cost of these. By having more time to write the call for tenders, Hydro-Québec could favor sites near transmission lines, among others. “We wanted to avoid the private sector coming up with projects, which for them make sense, but, for us, do not make sense as much at the social level as at the level of transport. »
Mr. Fitzgibbon, who inherited the Energy portfolio last October, ensures that the postponement of calls for tenders is at the request of Hydro-Quebec. This decision should not be seen as a disavowal of the strategy of the state company on his part, he assures.
At Hydro-Québec, we welcome the postponement of calls for tenders. The priority was to be able to deploy the projects “quickly”, explains spokesperson Maxence Huard-Lefebvre. “In theory, we can create wind projects anywhere on the map of Quebec. Except that there are places where we can do it faster and others where it will require more investment. [dans la capacité du réseau de transport de l’énergie]. »
The “renewable energy” block initially planned will now also be used for wind energy, confirmed Mr. Huard-Lefebvre.
In total, the two 2300 MW tenders will become 4000 MW tenders when measured in installed capacity. This takes into account the fact that an installed capacity of 3000 MW is needed to obtain the equivalent of 1300 MW of wind energy.
The calls for tenders would thus double the installed wind capacity in Quebec, which is close to 4000 MW.
More predictability
By going back to the drawing board, Hydro-Québec would be able to offer greater predictability to the private sector, according to Mr. Huard-Lefebvre. “We have decided to give clear information to the industry of what these capacities are, according to the zones on the map of the Hydro-Québec transmission network. So that the industry has a better understanding and can make decisions accordingly. »
This is a request from industry for more information in this regard. “Network congestion needs to be understood more transparently by the industry,” said President and CEO Gabriel Durany in an interview. We don’t want to develop a wind farm in a place where the network is not able to take it. »
Mr. Durany believes that Hydro-Québec is doing the right thing by providing clarifications to calls for tenders. Time is running out, however, if we want to ensure Quebec’s energy transition, he warns.
The realization of a wind project takes four years, which would bring us to 2027 at the earliest, a time when the state company envisages that it will no longer have a surplus. “It’s a race against time,” said Mr. Durany. […] We can have objectives that are linked to our climate targets in 2030. It is not because we are in 2023 [dans quelques jours] that we are not late. »