Hydro Quebec doesn’t have the power to supply the Atlantic Loop
Quebec Hydro doesn’t have enough generating capacity to supply its existing commitments past 2027, let alone send green power to Atlantic Canada via the proposed Atlantic Loop.
A memorandum sent by the Montreal Economic Forum to Quebec Premier Francois Legault on Monday warns that in four years Quebec Hydro is on track to not be able to generate enough electricity to meet growing domestic demand and its contractual obligations to Massachusetts and New York State.
This comes as the federal government pushes Nova Scotia and New Brunswick to borrow some $7.9 billion to build the Atlantic Loop.
“Just think of it, the East Coast should and could be a clean-energy powerhouse and this federal government will be there to help make it happen,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a May speech at the Atlantic Economic Forum in Antigonish.
“Not only is (the Atlantic Loop) the fastest and most cost-efficient way to get off coal, it will also make sure the Atlantic region has power to meet growing electricity demands.”
Except, the green electricity touted as the most viable option to help Nova Scotia get off coal by 2030 may not exist.
“(Last winter Hydro Quebec) was able to meet its demand in terms of power capacity during its highest peak, but it came very close to not being able to do that,” Gabriel Geguere, public policy analyst for the Montreal Economic Institute told The Chronicle Herald on Monday.
“If you’re relying on Hydro Quebec to meet your peak demand and it doesn’t adjust its production capacity – I don’t think that would be a good thing to do right now.”
Hydro-Quebec is increasing its production capacity – it has issued requests for proposals to build and is moving ahead with a modernization of its hydro infrastructure anticipated to add 2,000 megawatts of power by 2035.
Geguere’s analysis finds that the plan will fall short both in the short and medium term as demand grows.
In the long term, Hydro Quebec will need to increase its capacity by 50 per cent by 2050 to meet green energy targets.
Asked why he thought the federal government would push Atlantic Canadians to make a $7.9 billion investment to buy electricity from a utility that may not have it to sell, Geguere responded, “It’s clear the federal government is trying to find ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The key is you have to find a way to do that that is actually possible to do. With the pressure on Hydro Quebec’s capacity, right now (the Atlantic Loop) is not a reasonable approach.”
In May, a group of current and former members of the State of Maine’s legislature wrote to Premier Francois Legault, accusing Hydro Quebec of being dishonest when pitching its green energy production capacity in its pursuit of added export contracts to the United States eastern seaboard.
“Many people in New England have lived with a myth that Quebec has so much power that it doesn’t know what to do with it all,” reads the letter.
“We have been told that Hydro Quebec was wasting large amounts of power by spilling water over dams without generating power, and all that was needed was transmission lines to get the power to new markets. But this clearly is not the case. The reality is much more complicated, and we believe Quebec has a responsibility to fully reveal that complexity to the public, including to those who live in export markets for Hydro Quebec power.”
In a referendum two years ago, Maine residents voted about 60 per cent in favour of cancelling a project which would see a 233-kilometre electrical corridor run through their state to carry additional Hydro Quebec electricity to Massachusetts.
Hydro Quebec and its partner in the ‘New England Clean Energy Corridor’ sued the State of Maine. In April, a state jury found that the proponents had completed enough work on the project in good faith before the referendum was held, that the vote was unconstitutional.
Construction resumed immediately on the energy corridor.
