The development of the wind energy industry in Québec began in earnest in 1998 with the Le Nordais project, a wind farm located in the Matane regional county municipality and the Gaspésie region. Its 133 wind turbines, with a totalled installed capacity of 100 megawatts, were installed on two separate sites:

• Cap-Chat, with 76 wind turbines and an installed capacity of 57 megawatts;
• the municipalities of Saint-Ulric, Saint-Léandre and Matane in the Matane regional county municipality, with 57 wind turbines and an installed capacity of 43 megawatts.

Project selection process

To develop Québec’s wind energy potential and promote a new supply of clean, renewable energy, Hydro-Québec issued the first tender solicitation (call for bids) to supply wind-generated electricity in 2003. It targeted the supply of a block of 1,000 MW, generated within the Gaspésie region and the Matane regional county municipality, from December 2006 to December 2012. Following the bidding process, eight wind farm projects submitted by two bidders, and one manufacturer, were selected. Hydro-Québec estimates that a 1,000-megawatt wind farm produces enough power to supply around 160,000 homes.

On November 29 , 2011, seven wind farms built as a result of the 1,000 MW tender call began production:

• the Baie-des-Sables wind farm (109.5 MW) in the Matane regional county municipality;
• the Anse-à-Valleau wind farm (100.5 MW) in the La Côte-de-Gaspé regional county municipality;
• the Carleton wind farm (109.5 MW), in the Avignon regional county municipality;
• the Saint-Ulric wind farm (127.5 MW) in the Matane regional county municipatily;
• the Mont-Saint-Louis wind farm (100.5 MW) in the La Haute-Mauricie regional county municipality;
• the Montagne-Sèche wind farm (58.5 MW), in the La Côte-de-Gaspé regional county municipality;
• the Gros-Morne wind farm (step 1) 100.5 MW in the La Haute-Gaspésie regional county municipality.

In October 2005, Hydro-Québec announced a second tender call for 2,000 MW of wind energy. The second tender call covering all regions of Québec ended on September 18, 2007. After examining the bids, Hydro Québec announced that it had received 66 projects for a total of 7,722.2 MW of installed capacity in all regions of Québec. (Hydro-Québec press release – List of projects). The second tender call helped to consolidate the industrial structure for wind energy development in the Gaspésie region and Matane regional county municipality.

On May 5, 2008, Hydro-Québec announced that it had selected 15 bids for the production of a total of 2,004.5 MW under the tender call launched on October 31, 2005 for the purchase of wind energy produced in Québec. The projects will be built in eight different regions, by eight different promoters, and will involve two manufacturers: Enercon (1,050.5 MW) and REpower Systems (954 MW). Electricity production will begin at various dates between 2011 and 2015. (Hydro-Québec press release – press room)

To continue developing wind energy beyond the initial two calls for tenders, on April 30, 2009, Hydro-Québec launched another invitation to tender for an additional 500 MW to be split equally by local communities and aboriginal nations.

On December 20, 2010, Hydro-Québec announced the bids it had selected in this call for tenders for the production of 500 MW of wind power. In all, 12 bids were selected for a total of 291.4 MW.

• For the 250 MW block set aside for community wind farms, 11 projects will generate a total of 267.4 MW.
• For the 250 MW block reserved for aboriginal wind farms, 1 project will produce 24 MW.

Two manufacturers will produce the wind turbines for this call for tenders: Enercon (193 MW) and REpower (98.4 MW).

The average price of electricity for the selected projects is 11.3¢/kWh, plus a transmission cost of 2.0¢/kWh. The energy generated will be delivered between December 2013 and December 2015.

The bids selected in this invitation to tender should generate investments of some $730 million, in addition to $260 million to transmit the electricity, for a total of $990 million. (Hydro-Québec Press Release – Call for Tenders for 500 MW).

(Tender call documents of Hydro-Québec Distribution, in French)

Other supply contracts had been signed with private promoters under private agreements with Hydro-Québec Production. However, for future developments in the wind energy field, the Government and Hydro-Québec have decided to proceed with a bid-based process to support the emergence of a strong wind energy industry in Québec. Several stages in the bidding process require approval from the Régie de l’énergie.

On November 29, 2011, Québec had installed capacity of 918.6 MW, all located in the Gaspésie region or the Matane regional county municipality. The electricity generated is supplied to the Hydro-Québec grid.

Wind farm project location map (in French)

Projects completed or under construction

Source: Ministère des Ressources naturelles et de la Faune, November 29, 2011.