Quebecers must prepare to see electric dam projects multiply with Michael Sabia at the head of Hydro-Québec, François Legault warned on Friday.
The state-owned company has major projects on the drawing board to attract energy-intensive industries that want to green their production.
“We haven’t done a lot of major work at Hydro-Québec in the last 25 years,” said the Prime Minister. But, prepare yourself. Michael (Sabia) works very, very hard. There will be a lot of announcements for dams, upgrading dams, wind power. »
Clean electricity production capacity “is a big advantage that we have to make the economic catch-up that we need to do,” said Mr. Legault. He said it was necessary to convince large automobile companies to buy truly “green” batteries, aluminum and steel, produced with Quebec hydroelectricity.
Mr. Legault spoke as part of the inauguration of the Hélène-Desmarais building at HEC Montréal, a new pavilion located downtown. The premises will be dedicated to continuing training for executives who have already started their careers. Open since the end of August, the building already accommodates 3,200 students and 225 employees. The government of Quebec contributed a little over 100 million.
“A number of new dams”
After the event, at a press briefing, the Prime Minister stated that Hydro-Québec was “looking at a certain number of new dams”. The Crown corporation is also looking to increase the production capacity of the Churchill Falls power station in Labrador, as well as some of its own facilities, he said, adding that the construction of a new dam on the Petit-Mécatina River, in the Lower North Shore, was already under study. Wind power is also part of the plans.
“You have to choose the best projects,” he said.
We have a lot of projects on the table. It’s going to take a lot of electricity and the projects that will be chosen will be those that bring the most value to the economy, to Quebecers, to those who want paying jobs. And which make it possible to decarbonize Quebec as much as possible.
François Legault
François Legault stressed that many of these projects will have to be the subject of negotiations with the First Nations. ” We are ready ! », replied Ghislain Picard, chief of the Assembly of First Nations of Quebec and Labrador, on social networks.
The leader of the official opposition in the National Assembly, Marc Tanguay, for his part criticized the Prime Minister.
“Where is the vision, where are we going?,” he wrote. Before giving the green light to “a certain number of new dams”, can we set up a national discussion on our energy future with experts, communities and Quebecers? »
