July 21, 2012
Quebec

Quebec wants more wind power

By Lynn Moore, The Gazette | www.montrealgazette.com 20 July 2012

QUEBEC – Quebec is launching two new calls for tender for a total of 700 megawatts of wind energy, Premier Jean Charest said Friday.

The first round for 450 MW is to be open to all wind energy developers while the second of 250 MW is designed to include members of First Nations communities.

The announcement, which has been anticipated, is part of the government’s strategic energy plan to produce 4,000 MW of wind energy by 2015.

About 1,057 MW of wind energy has been added to the grid already, the province said in a statement.

As with previous wind power proposals, Quebec has local-content requirements. At least 60 per cent of the projects’ costs have to be spend in Quebec, half of that in the Gaspé and Matane regions.

Further details of the requests have not yet been made public.

The announcement is promising for wind project developers such as Innergex Renewable Energy Inc., Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp., Boralex Inc, and Northland Power Inc., Desjardins Securities analyst Jeremy Rosenfield said in a note to clients.

“We believe renewable power producers have been actively advancing work behind the scenes in preparation for the upcoming (call for tenders) and that the confirmation will shed positive light on longer term development activities,” he said.

Among those applauding Friday’s announcement was the Montreal-based environment group Équiterre.

“Wind is one of the energy forms that has the least impact on the environment and is also one that produces the most jobs per dollar invested, much more so than energy derived from petroleum, gas or nuclear projects” Équiterre spokesman Steven Guilbeault said in a statement.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2012/07/21/quebec-wants-more-wind-power/