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quebec reportWind power generation doesnot get a free pass in QuebecAlthough wind power generation seems the ideal‘green’ solution, and complementary to the‘blue’ source the world over, many groups inQuebec are strongly opposed to most wind projectsunder development.Various environmental groups have carried outstudies showing there are, in fact, many disadvantagesto wind power generation; enough to lobby municipalitiesand the Ministry of the Environment to holda moratorium on wind projects across the province.Studies show that the windmills kill a large numberof birds, and the various noises they produce (via theblades, generator, etc.) chase away wildlife. Their visualimpact is also an issue, which is why it is prohibitedto erect wind turbines between the St. Lawrence Riverand Highway 20.The Quebec Federation of Municipalities (FQM)passed a motion this summer asking the provincialgovernment to dictate a minimum financial contributionthat wind power generation corporations areto pay municipalities where wind turbines are to beinstalled—be they on public or private lands. TheInfo no. 13Tmaxthe most advanced technologyTmax T1 Tmax T2 Tmax T3 Tmax T4 Tmax T5Tmax. T GenerationFor your nearest regional office:Atlantic and Quebec Region: 1-800-567-0283Mid-West & Pacific Region: 1-866-222-8368Ontario Region: 1-866-460-3300Visit us at:www.abb.comTmax has grown. The most advanced circuit-breakertechnology available from the smallest size up to 600A.Tmax provides the best technical solutions for yourproject requirements. The T Generation growsand so are your possibilities.The range:• 15A to 600A• 1-2-3-4 poles• Up to 600VAC/DC• Short-circuit interrupting capacity:10 to 100KA @ 600VAC• MCCB,MCS, and MCP versions• Electronic or thermal-magnetic trip units• Full range of accessoriesrock-bottom price, as per FQM, should be $4000per megawatt-capacity installed. In Longueuil, thefourth largest city in the province (with its 400,000citizens on the south shore of Montreal), city councilpassed a regulation earlier this summer prohibitingthe erection of any wind turbine on its urbanterritory (whether commercial or private).Meantime, Hydro-Quebec has called for tendersto get projects amounting to 2000 megawatts ofwind-generated electricity, a large portion of whichwould be granted to municipally and First Nationsownedprojects. Hydro-Quebec would like all theseturbines up and running by the end of 2013, withagreements running from 15 to 25 years. At closingof bids, 25 companies had submitted 66 projects forclose to 8000 megawatts of capacity.We should recall the lessons learned from badexperiences with the mining industry. Mining companiesbuilt towns, exploited the ground and whateverwas underneath it and, when the ore bodieswere worked out, they shut down and dismantled theoperation, leaving our governments with the job ofcleaning up their mess.Likewise, wind turbines are meant to operate forabout 20 years: what will it cost to take them down,and who will pay? Will Hydro-Quebec or the governmentimpose some kind of fee on wind powerdevelopments to take care of demolition at the endshould the promoter fold? No clear answers as yet.Meantime, 3C Inc. confirmed its partnership withLa Métis Regional Country Municipality (RCM) totender for a 30MW project valued at $65 million. Notvery far from La Métis in Carleton-sur-Mer, CartierÉnergie Éolienne (a subsidiary of Innergex Funds)just received the okay to start building its wind powergeneration farm. Minister of Gaspésie-Îles-de-la-Madeleine region, Nathalie Normandeau, announcedthe government’s approval on this project comprising73 turbines, generating 1095 megawatts, worth about$170 million. Ten people will work on the farm whenit’s completed around the end of 2008. Hydro-Quebecis Cartier’s only client.Lately, the town of St-Donat in the Bas-St-Laurentregion announced it will vigorously resist a 230kVpower transmission line project between Baie-des-Sables and Rimouski. The town will ask BAPE (Bureaud’audiences publiques sur l’environnement)—roughlytranslated as the Environment Public HearingsBureau—to conduct a public hearing on this issue.Meantime, Laval (the second-largest city inQuebec) passed a motion to modify zoning plansto allow farmers to erect windmills on their premises,be they private or commercial, though limitingthem to 12 metres in height. (30% of Laval’s territoryis agricultural.)In short, wind power generation and turbinesare undergoing turbulence in Quebec, and protestscome from many sources—not just the left wing.ABB_EB_Sept07.indd 112 • november/december 2007 • www. mag.com9/19/07 1:45:14 PM