The time when François Legault, then newly premier, proposed to his Ontario counterpart Doug Ford excess electricity Quebec is far behind. The situation has changed
insisted the CAQ leader on Tuesday, who recalled that electricity would run out by 2030.
To remedy this, the outgoing Prime Minister would like to give Hydro-Quebec the mandate to study the possibility of building new dams on Quebec soil. Mr. Legault brings back here an idea already mentioned when he came to power in the fall of 2018.
<q data-attributes=""lang":"value":"fr","label":"Français","value":"html":"Juste pour vous donner un ordre de grandeur, Hydro-Québec produit par année 200terawatt hours [TWh] of electricity. […] We’re gonna need 100TWh more”,”text”:”Just to give you an order of magnitude, Hydro-Québec produces 200 terawatt hours per year [TWh] of electricity. […] We’re going to need 100TWh more””>Just to give you an order of magnitude, Hydro-Québec produces 200 terawatt hours per year [TWh] of electricity. […] We will need 100 TWh more by 2050, said Mr. Legault.
« It is predicted that by 2050, we will need [de l’équivalent] of half a Hydro-Quebec. We have to start working on that. »
In order to carry out the energy transition and reach its target for 2050, the Coalition avenir Québec (CAQ) knows that it will have to electrify all sectors of activity in the province. It will take us a lot of electricity to replace the hydrocarbons
a offert M. Legault.
In addition to supplying all of Quebec, Hydro-Quebec must also send electricity to neighboring states with which the Legault government has entered into agreements.
Under his leadership, Quebec obtained the largest electricity supply contract in its history, namely a US$30 billion with New York State. To this is added the Appalachian-Maine linean agreement concluded under the Liberals of Philippe Couillard, which should allow the state-owned company to export its energy to Massachusetts for 20 years.
If the construction of new hydroelectric dams materializes, the head of the CAQ intends to shorten the deadlines, which are currently being evaluated. fifteen years old
. The development of these major projects will be done in collaboration with the Aboriginal and Inuit communities, he added.
Asked where these new facilities might be located, Mr. Legault replied that it would be up to Hydro-Québec to submit its proposals within the next months
. According to the outgoing Prime Minister, the Crown corporation is already considering some options
.
Earlier this year, the president and CEO of Hydro-Québec, Sophie Brochu, did not envisage the construction of new dams, preferring to bet on energy efficiency. In its 2022-2026 Strategic Plan, Hydro-Québec nevertheless stated that it was studying all possible options
to meet changing electricity demand, including the development of new works
.
In accordance with Hydro-Québec’s objectives – which appear in the plan published last March – the CAQ believes it can obtain at least
8 TWh through energy efficiency and add 3000 megawatt hours (MW) of wind power.
In parallel with these measures, the CAQ promises to inject $40 million to finance the project of the Energy Transition Valleywhich brings together the cities of Trois-Rivières, Shawinigan and Bécancour, to promote the development and manufacture of batteries for electric cars.
Mr. Legault also undertakes to increase the number of level 2 charging stations from 6,500 to 21,500, and the number of fast terminals for electric cars from 1,000 to 2,200 by 2026. In his Plan for a green economy, presented in 2020, the Legault government had set a target of 2,500 fast terminals by 2030.
A Legault government would inject $50 million per year throughout the mandate for the increase in charging stations from one end of the province to the other.
An idea discarded by the PLQ and QS
In a press briefing on Tuesday, Dominique Anglade declared that the Quebec Liberal Party was not considering the construction of new dams. It’s not [la solution] which was retained
during the development of the electoral platform, she explained.
The party prefers to bet on the development of a green hydrogen sector, a central element of his ECO project to fight once morest climate change, as well as the construction of new infrastructures powered by solar energy and wind energy.
For his part, the leader of the Parti Québécois, Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, is not closing the door on the construction of new dams, but he believes that we must first and foremost tackle the issue of energetic efficiency.
Like the PLQ and the PQ, Québec solidaire would rather focus its efforts on increasing energy efficiency and developing renewable energies. However, the construction of new hydroelectric dams is not not necessary
to achieve greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction targets, reacted his co-spokesperson Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois.
The leader of the Conservative Party of Quebec, Éric Duhaime, for his part called on the CAQ leader to reveal more details regarding his proposal. Questions remain unanswered, such as those of a potential increase in Hydro-Quebec rates or possible negotiations that might take place with First Nations if the said dam were built on Indigenous territory, he mentioned.
I think that Mr. Legault has a duty to submit studies and the details of all this before the election, because for the moment, what we had today is a bit of a draft.
did he declare.
It should be noted that the CAQ is committed to reducing the province’s GHG emissions by 37.5% compared to 1990 levels by 2030. However, the measures put in place during its mandate will insufficient to achieve its objective and ensure the energy transition.
The PLQ and the PQ have given themselves a reduction target of 45%, while QS is aiming for 55%. The Conservative Party of Quebec has no GHG reduction target.
With the collaboration of Jerome Labbe
