wind farms

Nelson Sergerie, LJI Journalist

SAINT-CYPRIEN – The Eastern Energy Alliance believes it could benefit from the current situation in the United States, where U.S. President Donald Trump has issued an executive order ending federal funding for wind farms built in the United States. 

That is the impression Michel Lagacé, the president of the Alliance had as the annual Quebec Association of Renewable Energy Producers (AQPER) Convention finished on February 12. “The American situation leads the industry to question how Mr. Trump’s multiple decrees will have an impact or not on the development of renewable sectors in Quebec and those that have ambitions on the American market,” summarizes Mr. Lagacé. 

What could be positive – and this is my personal analysis – is that the federal government can have a significant impact on federal lands, but on state lands, the states are still able to make decisions. Will the turbine market become less interesting and have better prices in Quebec? That could be interesting,” says the president while the alliance must build several parks within four years. 

President Joe Biden’s Buy American Act has had a significant impact on the American market. However, the shift towards American oil and gas drilling is also changing the situation in the energy market. 

Despite the changes in the U.S. industry remains positive. “In Quebec, we have more oil exploration and exploitation and we have turned to renewable energy,” recalls the president, mentioning the Legault government’s shift to wind power. 

“We’ve been talking about an additional 5,000 to 6,000 megawatts on the alliance’s territory for a while, particularly in the Gaspésie. 5,000 to 6,000 megawatts is the equivalent of an investment of $15 to $18 billion in today’s dollars,” recalls Mr. Lagacé. 

The Alliance obtained 1,426 megawatts to develop following the latest calls for tenders. The Pohénégamook-Picard-Saint-Antonin-Wolastokuk 1 wind farm, located in the MRCs of Rivière-du-Loup and Témiscouata will generate 350 megawatts in partnership with Invenergy. Construction will begin soon after obtaining authorization from the Bureau d’audiences publiques sur l’environnement (BAPE). 

Eastern Energy Alliance which brings together the regions of Montmagny-L’Islet, Lower Saint Lawrence, Gaspé Peninsula and the Magdalen Islands 

“In the next few weeks, we will start clearing the forest. We’re waiting for the permits. We have received the certificate of acceptance for construction. After that, all the permits will have to be obtained before we can start production on December 1, 2026. That’s relatively quick, and to paraphrase a former prime minister, we’re ready,’ says the Chairman. 

Indigenous businesses from the Wolastoqiyik Wahsipekuk First Nation will be able to collaborate on the construction of the park. The one in Madawaska, in Dégelis and Saint-Jean-de-la-Lande, in Témiscouata, in a tripartite partnership with EDF and Hydro-Québec for 270 megawatts will be before the BAPE on February 25. 

“This is a necessary step. I listened to citizens’ concerns last November, and everything revolves around the maple syrup potential and people understood that EDF had no ambition to go there. There were also concerns about ecological corridors and the project only affects 1% of the territory,” adds the president. For the other parks, the Forêt Domaniale in the Montmagny region, in Chaudière-Appalaches, which will have a capacity of 180 megawatts in partnership with EDF, the process is moving forward, as is that of Pohénégamook-Picard-Saint-Antonin-Wolastokuk 2. 

“All the projects led by the alliance, the 1,426 megawatts obtained in 2021 and 2023, are progressing rather quickly, and we are very happy about it,” notes Mr. Lagacé. 

The parks must be delivered by December 2029 at the latest. Once operational, these parks will generate $1 billion in shared profits over the next 30 years for the Alliance’s member municipalities and the Wolastoqiyik Wahsipekuk First Nation. If 6,000 megawatts were developed, the royalties would be enormous. 

“1,426 that produce $1 billion in profits. You make 5,000 more, you easily multiply by three. We are perhaps at $4 billion and perhaps more. It can be dizzying,” imagines the president. 

The bottleneck that prevents the energy produced east of Rivière-du-Loup from being sent to major centres is becoming a thing of the past. 

“The Alliance is making every effort to capture and produce these famous electrons and bring them to where they must be consumed,” says Mr. Lagacé. 

As for the 375-kilowatt line that must be built towards Matapedia, the schedule is in the 2032-2035 horizon. “In the case of the Alliance, we will look at how we can exploit the deposits before the arrival of the cables,” he says. 

The full potential of these projects could be reached around 2040.