Quebec is advancing its renewable energy plans with two major steps: officially launching its first-ever solar energy request for proposals and moving forward with new wind farm developments.
The province provided details in September for the solar RFP initially announced in March, writes McCarthy Tétrault. In October, it enacted the RFP through regulation.
“The official launch of this solar RFP confirms the Quebec government’s interest in laying the foundations for a Quebec solar industry,” the law firm writes.
Aimed at developing local energy resources and reducing reliance on the province’s transmission network, the RFP will prioritize projects sited on lands where electricity generation would be a secondary use, unless a project revitalizes an underused area. The focus on smaller projects in urban areas prompted one solar firm to call the RFP a “game-changer” back in April.
Hydro-Québec will hold two rounds of tenders, aiming to secure at least 150 megawatts by the end of 2024, with more to follow by 2026. All projects must connect to the grid by the end of 2029.
Quebec has little commercial solar capacity, with the province mainly focusing on wind. In May, the public utility announced plans to install 10,000 megawatts of new wind capacity by 2035, taking on a developer role for projects over 1,000 megawatts.
In July, in a big step toward achieving that goal, the Hydro-Québec secured partnerships with two Indigenous communities and a regional government in the Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean region, paving the way for a C$9-billion wind farm.
Earlier this month, it unveiled plans for another wind project in the Lower St. Lawrence region that would add up to 1,000 megawatts, reports CBC News. The utility is partnering with a group representing 209 collectives and territories in eastern Quebec that invest in energy projects, including the Wolastoqiyik Wahsipekuk First Nation. The initiative could provide 10% of Hydro-Québec’s wind target.
Quebec Premier François Legault recently called green energy the “gold of tomorrow” that will bring an “industrial renaissance” to the province, reports the Montreal Gazette. Two economic booms will follow the boost in renewables capacity, he added: jobs in construction and growth created by companies buying green power.
But Legault’s green energy plan has drawn criticism from his own party for focusing too much on large projects while leaving smaller entrepreneurs behind. “You are putting all your eggs in big things,” Portneuf riding delegate Sylvain Duval said at a Coalition Avenir Québec meeting in September.
Quebec is also considering a new Bill 69 that would, among other things, aim to hasten the deployment of renewables capacity by authorizing producers to make private sales to customers through an exemption to Hydro-Québec’s monopoly over electricity distribution, writes McCarthy Tétrault.
