http://www.canada.com/montreal/montrealgazette/news/story.html?id=0e98f38e-9 f87-4b3b-b8dc-84d5987cbde6 Quebec to invest $2 billion in wind-power projects Public-private plan will span 8 years. General Electric to supply up to 660 turbines, with further contracts opening up in months MIKE DE SOUZA The Gazette, October 5, 2004 Hydro-Quebec will need some bad weather to make a profit out of deals announced yesterday to generate enough wind power for 200,000 homes. The contracts will add a total of 990 megawatts of power to Hydro's grid by 2012, but president Andre Caille said it's too early to say whether the company can export that energy. "If it's windy," said Caille, following a news conference with Premier Jean Charest, two cabinet ministers, and the Liberal MNA for Matane, Nancy Charest. "It also depends on what the situation at noon time is going to be between Montreal, Boston, New York. I don't know, I don't even know (what it's going to be) for tomorrow. So I don't know four years ahead in time." Hydro-Quebec is investing $430 million in the project, but private-sector companies will invest a further $1.5 billion to develop the power on wind farms in eastern Quebec. "Historically, it's a big day for Quebec," Dr. Jean-Louis Chaumel, a wind-power expert from the Universite du Quebec a Rimouski, said in a telephone interview. He said it could be the beginning of a new era of diversity at the power utility company. But he was concerned about the private sector being allowed to develop the power and sell it to Hydro. Premier Charest said the government is still controlling and regulating energy. "I don't think the government of Quebec should go into the business of building windmills," he said. General Electric Co. will supply up to 660 wind turbines for eight projects in Quebec, in the largest such award in the history of the wind-power industry. GE was one of the companies standing to benefit from the proposed Suroit gas-fired power plant, which will likely be scrapped because of community and environmental objections. But Caille said the wind-power contract is not compensation for the company. All the winning bids were chosen after a strict screening process that began in the summer of 2003, he said. "It has nothing to do with the Suroit," Caille said. "If they had lost, they would have lost, simply." Charest said the government is ready to open bidding within months on another 1,000 megawatts of wind power, although he said the door is also still open for some gas-powered projects in the long term. Most of the wind power development will be managed by a Longueuil-based consortium, with half of its funding coming from Alberta-based TransCanada Corporation. Ontario-based Northland Power has also won the right to develop some of the power. "This is a good demonstration that we can do business, and we don't have to build everything we own, we don't have to do everything ourselves," said Caille. "This is something that works." Charest explained that the projects will allow the industry to develop a concentrated base in Quebec, allowing local companies and researchers to develop their own expertise. mdesouza@thegazette.canwest.com - - - Online Extra: In 2003, wind supplied less than half of one per cent of Canada's electricity, leading critics to say this country is lagging in technology and point to the need for investment. To read more, go to our Web site, www.montrealgazette.com. --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.768 / Virus Database: 515 - Release Date: 9/22/2004
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