ENERGY OUTLOOK

Powering Québec

By Royce Lowe

Québec’s journey to what might be termed hydro-electric self-sufficiency began in the early 1970s in the James Bay Area of northern Québec, where over 42 years, beginning with the groundbreaking on May 3, 1973, more than 100,000 workers and engineers built hundreds of dams and dikes required for the start-up of eleven power plants and thousands of kilometers of high-tension lines, at a cost of $27 billion in current dollars.

There were 1,500 km (almost 1,000 miles) of roads, dozens of bridges, five airports, five camps the size of small towns for workers, five villages for executives, and hundreds of more rudimentary campsites. Tens of thousands of families would see a father or a mother leave for the site for six months and return home for a few weeks before going back to the site.

The three phases of James Bay, built 1973-1984, 1985-1996, and

2002-2013, were overseen by ten provincial governments, either Liberal or Parti-Québécois. Fifty years after its ground-breaking, James Bay still stands out as an avant-garde project. L’actualité (may be translated as News,) a French-language magazine published in Québec, recently took us through the development of the three phases and their upcoming utilization in the province’s industrial future.

Québec’s energy today is 100% renewable, and this is largely due to this complex that supplies almost half of Hydro-Québec’s hydroelectric power. The enormous plants are far from being the world’s largest, and the Robert-Bourassa plant is merely 14th on the world scale, being dwarfed by the Three-Gorges dam in China. But what is in James Bay lights up and heats half of Hydro-Québec’s customers and a good part of the province’s heavy industry while also feeding 15% of the electricity needs of New Brunswick and New England.

One can’t speak of James Bay without mentioning the effect the project had on relations with the native peoples living in the area. There were difficulties in the interpretation of what was to be developed and where, where the natives would be relocated, and how they would be compensated. In the final analysis, and in spite of occasional hard times, the outcome was favorable. Several natives were employed, and there were nativeowned companies that took contracts. In fact, a Cree trapper came up with the idea of joining two lakes using a three-kilometer tunnel instead of submerging all the territory under a reservoir, as Hydro-Québec normally did. There was a unique cooperation between native peoples and HydroQuébec, and the Mohawks will be co-owners of the interconnecting line for the contract to supply New York City, expected in 2025.

During the 2022 election campaign in Québec, prime minister Legault said he was looking to build more big dams. Hydro-Québec has calculated that to electrify transport and heavy industry up to 2050, it will need at least 100 terawatt hours of additional electricity or around 50% more than the present capacity. Québec could use a new James Bay. This may tend to nuclear or wind farms.

The water that turns half of HydroQuébec’s turbines is stored in 27 reservoirs that stock the equivalent of a full year, at least, of consumption in Québec. And these immense reservoirs may be considered as making the biggest contribution to the energy transition. It’s sure, too, that hydroelectricity works whether the wind blows or the sun shines or if households are willing to postpone their consumption for a few hours.

With the “hardware” and the expertise already in place, the efficient production of electricity in Québec looks set for a bright future.

Then there’s Canada’s Climate

The Toronto Globe and Mail Report on Business recently highlighted that Canada’s record here is not the best. Although accounting for only 1.5% of global emissions, it is the worst in the Group of Seven when it comes to emission reduction. There again, in terms of emissions per capita, it is the worst in the world. This isn’t really surprising when we’re looking at the world’s second-biggest country, with a population that approximates that of Tokyo. But it’s easy to point the finger at China, India, and the U.S. China and India’s emissions doubled between 2005 and 2009. The U.S. showed around a 10% reduction. Canada showed a slight increase.

Overall, Canada’s electricity generation is 60% hydro, 15% nuclear, 5% wind, 0.3% solar, 11% natural gas, 7% coal, and 0.6% petroleum. So it isn’t what Canada uses to generate electricity, but what it does with the electricity it’s generated. Namely the production of petroleum products, primary metals, and agricultural products (among others.)

So no more sitting back and pointing the finger Canada. Follow your neighbor to the south, who has recently put aside many billions of dollars to help the climate.

Author profile: Royce Lowe, Manufacturing Talk Radio, UK and EU International Correspondent, Contributing Writer, Manufacturing Outlook n

JUNE 2023