Nelson Sergerie, LJI
GASPÉ – The Gaspésie-Îles-de-la-Madeleine region shared its views in Gaspé, on May 23, as part of the Energy Vision Tour, which aims to define the Integrated Energy Plan for the coming years.
Yves Montigny, Member of the National Assembly (MNA) for René-Lévesque and spokesperson for the tour, and his colleague from Gaspé, Stéphane Sainte-Croix, met with about twenty participants at the consultation.
“Before even writing anything, we want to take the time to engage with communities, with people on the ground, to get their vision of energy development and ensure that what we write reflects the realities on the ground,” notes Mr. Montigny, who was halfway through this consultation tour, which included 16 planned stops.
In the Gaspé Peninsula, the issue of wind power is important. “What role can wind power development play, or forest biomass, or other types of energy beyond Hydro-Québec? There’s also fossil fuels. In this grand vision of decarbonization, when we want to decarbonize our economy, our energy supply, we want to do it as part of a transition. But before creating a scenario, we want to be able to discuss with citizens how they see it,” continues the Côte-Nord MNA. Regarding the role of regional content in future wind farms, particularly the wind turbine blades from LM Wind Power in Gaspé, the elected official indicated that the discussion will continue.
The latest wind farm procurement process has raised several questions and concerns, particularly from the mayor of Gaspé, about the future of Quebec’s wind industry.
“The key to the energy vision is to listen to people. It’s time to hear from them. They will give us their opinions on this. I’ll be happy to document all of this, and it will be part of our reflection,” said Mr. Montigny.
Several stakeholders have criticized the Quebec government for granting large blocks of energy to economic projects, some of which have failed, such as Northvolt. Companies that have obtained blocks of energy are not using them at full capacity.
“In discussions with participants, what we’re told is that we need to adapt our energy supply to demand. People want to develop economic projects, and we want to adapt to that. There are also established criteria that are often misunderstood. All the energy allocation criteria, in a context of energy scarcity, people say, allocate megawatts while optimizing economic benefits,” maintains the MNA for René-Lévesque.
Bill 69, currently under consideration by the Quebec government, aims to integrate energy planning, and this consultation is intended as an upstream step.
Regionally, in addition to industry stakeholders and elected officials, Indigenous communities will also be consulted.