2023-11-17 21:59:38
As we learn that Hydro-Québec will run out of electricity two years earlier than expected, the Minister of Energy, Pierre Fitzgibbon, pleads for cutting red tape to speed up the construction of dams and wind turbines.
• Read also: Even projects under 5 MW should be approved, says Michael Sabia
• Read also: Consumption greater than anticipated: Hydro-Québec will run out of power two years earlier than expected
“Building a dam takes 15 years. That makes no sense in a nation of beavers. In fact, over the 15 years, there are 10 years of paper and 5 years of concrete,” he said during a speech to the Council on International Relations of Montreal (CORIM) on Friday in Montreal.
“To produce wind power, currently at Hydro-Québec, it requires a ministerial decree, that’s me. Managing a decree takes time. It takes twelve weeks. So why have so many administrative procedures, when we know we want wind power?”, he asked himself out loud.
“There are a lot of administrative pitfalls, both in government and at the Régie [de l’énergie]than at Hydro,” he observed.
“Quebec will not lack energy”
Friday, The newspaper reported that due to the battery sector and growing industrial needs, Hydro-Québec will be looking for new supplies two years earlier than planned and will have to increase its imports during winter peaks.
In the press scrum, following his speech, the Minister of Energy, Pierre Fitzgibbon, wanted to be reassuring.
“Quebec will not lack energy. Residential areas, hospitals, schools will not lack energy,” he insisted.
“Moreover, Michael Sabia’s plan includes additional data and additional projects, which will materialize by 2028,” he added.
Soon a bill
Earlier, in front of a business audience, he insisted on the importance of accelerating major projects, arguing that these delays had no place in the midst of a climate emergency.
“Governments and municipalities must begin to review their way of doing things and to modernize Hydro-Québec and the Régie [de l’énergie]we are going to need an ambitious bill,” he stressed.
Pierre Fitzgibbon hopes to be able to submit it next February.
-With the collaboration of Sylvain Larocque and Nicolas Lachance
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