Wind power meeting challenges of low-carbon energy demand

At the end of May, Hydro-Québec's initiative to spearhead the construction and operation of large-scale wind farms injected new momentum into Quebec's wind energy sector. By 2035, the utility plans to add over 10,000 megawatts of new wind power capacity to its grid, at an equivalent annual deployment rate ranging from 1,000 to 1,500 MW.

According to Jean-Francois Vallée, Market Manager, Electrical and Renewable Energy, and Scott Fleming, Director, Wind and Solar, this policy is expected to enable and streamline the development of wind power projects, providing long-term stability to mitigate risk and thus enhance their profitability. It marks a turning point toward establishing a new record pace in wind power deployments including Canada’s first large-scale +1,000-megawatt wind power projects.

“Wind power is poised for extremely rapid growth over the next decade because it's the least expensive source of new power generation capacity, and one of the fastest energy sources to develop and install,” says Scott Fleming. “It’s essential for diversifying our energy mix. So, it’ll be very interesting to observe the outcomes of this strategy, particularly in terms of pace of deployment and economies of scale.”

Wind power plays a central role in tomorrow’s power grid by:
- Diversifying energy sources
- Mitigating greenhouse gas emissions
- Lowering cost of delivered electricity
- Bolstering local and regional energy independence
- Driving local economic growth
- Promoting innovation and advancing new technologies

“This initiative should speed up production of new energy blocks for industrial companies with significant renewable energy needs from the grid,” explains Jean-François Vallée, “and as we've increasingly seen in recent years, there will still be ample opportunity for self-generation and collaboration with industry partners.”

If this new model is to bring about a radical change in the scale of wind power projects by 2035, it must prioritize collaboration with affected First Nations and communities.

Over the next decade and beyond, wind power is poised to provide an increasingly important role for Hydro-Québec in achieving its objectives of decarbonizing and meeting power demands.