Hydro-Quebec Approves 2,004 MW Of Wind-Power Farms
CANADA: May 5, 2008
MONTREAL - Hydro-Quebec said Monday it accepted 15 bids from groups aiming
to develop a total of 2,004 megawatts of wind-generated electricity that
would come on stream from 2011 to 2015.
Capital outlays for the wind farms is estimated at C$5.5 billion ($5.4
billion), including C$1.1 billion for transmission infrastructure, the
Quebec-owned utility said.
The projects are dispersed across a wide swath of the province, from south
of Montreal, up along both sides of the St. Lawrence River toward the Gaspe
and North Shore regions.
"It ensures a supply of renewable energy at a highly competitive cost for
wind power," said Thierry Vandal, president and chief executive of
Hydro-Quebec, which generates and distributes most of the electricity in the
province.
Hydro-Quebec said the average price offered by the winning bids is 10.5
Canadian cents a kilowatt hour in total.
That price includes 8.7 Canadian cents for the wind energy, 1.3 Canadian
cents for transmission, and an estimated 0.5 Canadian cents for network
balancing service provided by Hydro-Quebec Production.
Winning bidders included a consortium led by Boralex Inc and Gaz Metro Ltd,
which got approval for two projects with a total installed capacity of 272
MW.
Boralex said the consortium had teamed up with closely held wind turbine
manufacturer Enercon GmbH, which planned to set up a components plant in
Quebec.
Aside from Enercon, REpower Systems AG was also listed as a wind turbine
manufacturer for some of the projects.
Among the other winning bids were those by Kruger Energie Inc, Invenergy
Wind Canada ULC, St-Laurent Energies and Enerfin Sociedad de Energia SA.
Hydro-Quebec had issued the tender call for the contracts on Oct. 31, 2005.
The utility said it will draw up contracts with the project proponents
within the next few months. To proceed, the contracts will require approval
of Quebec's energy commission and environmental and municipal permits.
($1=$1.01 Canadian)
(Reporting by Robert Melnbardis; editing by Rob Wilson)
Story by Robert Melnbardis
REUTERS NEWS SERVICE
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