US embassy cable - 05QUEBEC115

UNCLAS QUEBEC 000115 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: TRGY, ENRG, EIND, PGOV, CA, Energy 
SUBJECT: QUEBEC UPS WIND ENERGY DEVELOPMENT 
 
REF: 04 QUEBEC 0225 
 
1.  Hydro Quebec (HQ) is ramping up its wind power plan with an 
announcement June 29 that the public utility is looking to add 
an additional 2000MW of wind capacity, doubling the 1000MW 
originally planned target.  Premier Jean Charest, backed by new 
HQ President Thierry Vandal and Ministers Pierre Corbeil 
(Natural Resources) and Thomas Mulcair (Environment), told a 
press conference that Quebec wants to harness up to 3500MW of 
wind power by 2013 with new investments worth Cdn$3 billion, 
mainly from private industry. 3500MW represents the power needed 
to feed a city twice the size of Quebec City, or approximately 
1.2 million households.  The province's target is to hold 7% of 
the total world wind capacity. 
 
2.  A request for proposals will be issued this fall asking 
investors to submit plans to develop, own and operate wind power 
farms in locations around the province.  Presently, farms in the 
Gaspe and Lower St-Lawrence regions together generate 1000MW 
worth of power.  Vandal said several potential investors are 
already scouting for optimal sites; Hydro Quebec will chose 
among these proposals based on quality of the resource and the 
costs of integrating to the existing power grid.   The new 
target of 2000MW will create 4,000 jobs during the construction 
phase and 800 permanents jobs once in operation. 
 
3.  This announcement comes ahead of the Quebec government's 
much-awaited energy strategy statement due in August, which is a 
follow-on to last year's parliamentary hearings.  Natural 
Resources Minister Corbeil said the wind project aligns with 
that process and Quebec will furnish much of the technology and 
equipment.  Vandal said that two major manufacturers of wind 
generating components, Marmen and LMGlasfiber, are currently 
setting up shop in the towns of Matane and Gaspe, and the 
provincial government is deeply committed to supporting those 
industries.   The Federation of Quebec Municipalities are also 
eager; they "want to be 100% involved in the development of 
energy projects and use the resources available on their 
territories as economic levers."  In a June trip to the Gaspe 
with a Vermont gubernatorial delegation, the CG and State 
visitors had the opportunity to see the wind turbines and talk 
to local officials.  Especially enthusiastic was the mayor of 
Murdochville - a former mining town which was in such economic 
straits that the local population voted in a referendum to shut 
down the town in 2002. 
 
4.  Comment:  While the media is reporting that "environmental 
groups are enthusiastically on board," Hydro-Quebec President 
Vandal sounded a more cautious note to CG when she discussed the 
subject with him at a Quebec National Day reception.  Vandal 
said that while environmentalists and municipalities in the 
Gaspe region are on board, Hydro-Quebec may be in for a more 
difficult time in expanding wind power production on the 
province's North Shore.  The difference?  The Gaspe - a huge, 
underpopulated peninsula that has fallen on hard times -- 
already has a series of wind turbine projects underway.  The 
North Shore up to now has had only minimal wind power 
development.  While communities along the North Shore may see 
wind power development as an economic boon, environmentalists 
(who are not, in fact, based in these isolated communities), may 
be more reluctant to spread significant wind power development 
beyond the Gaspe.