Canadian utility Hydro-Quebec announced yesterday that it has accepted bids from 15 wind power developers for a total of 2,004 megawatts (MW) of renewable energy to be connected to the grid in stages from 2011 to 2015.
The projects will require capital outlays estimated at C$5.5 billion (US$5.4 billion), including $1.1 billion for transmission infrastructure.
Projects are spread across the southeast border of Quebec, from south of Montreal, along the St. Lawrence and toward the North Shore regions.
"We’re very satisfied with the outcome announced today," said Thierry Vandal, President and CEO of Hydro-Québec, which supplies a majority of the electricity in the province. "It ensures a supply of renewable energy at a highly competitive cost for wind power."
The utility said the average price offered by the winning bids is 10.5 Canadian cents per kilowatt hour (kWh), including 8.7¢/kWh for the wind energy, 1.3¢/kWh for transmission, and an estimated 0.5¢/kWh for balancing service provided by Hydro-Québec Production.
In accordance with a Québec government regulation, all the winning bids meet the following criteria:
· At least 60% of the total cost of each wind farm must be incurred in Québec, and
· At least 30% of the cost of the wind turbines must be incurred in the regional county municipality of Matane and the administrative region of Gaspésie-Îles-de-la-Madeleine.
A consortium led by Boralex Inc (BLX.TO) and Gaz Metro Ltd (GZM_u.TO) received approval for two projects with a total installed capacity of 272 MW.
Boralex said the consortium will work with wind turbine manufacturer Enercon GmbH, which planns to set up a components plant in Quebec.
REpower Systems AG (RPWGn.DE) will also supply turbines for some of the projects, according to a list distributed by Hydro-Qebec.
Other accepted bids were submitted by Kruger Energie Inc, Invenergy Wind Canada ULC, St-Laurent Energies and Enerfin Sociedad de Energia SA.
Hydro-Qebec said it will draw up contracts within the next few months, which must receive approval from Quebec’s energy commission and environmental and municipal permits.
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