A New Energy Policy for Québec
SUMMARY
RENEWABLE
ENERGIES
OVERVIEW
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Renewable energy options are deemed to emit limited greenhouse gases (GHG), which is contributing to Québec’s sound performance in this respect.•
They are responsible for thousands of direct and indirect jobs in Québec and are a significant economic development lever for businesses and communities, especially the Aboriginal communities.•
Québec’s hydro-power potentialities and forest resources make its energy profile quite distinctive in the world.•
Electricity from 99% renewable sources satisfies 40%of Quebecers’ energy needs and bioenergy, 7%.
RENEWABLE ELECTRICITY
The abundance of Québec’s hydraulic resources has fostered its social, industrial and economic development for a century.
Governance of electricity
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Under the social pact on electricity concluded when Hydro-Québec was established in 1944 and which was enshrined in the Act respecting the Régie de l’énergie in 2000, Hydro-Québec offers the lowest possible, stable, uniform rates.•
Hydro-Québec generates, transmits and distributes electricity. The government corporation has four divisions:°
Hydro-Québec Production°
Hydro-Québec TransÉnergie°
Hydro-Québec Distribution°
Hydro-Québec Équipement et services partagés — Société d’énergie de la Baie JamesConsommation
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Québec’s per capita electricity consumption is among the highest in the world, after Iceland and Norway, which also have abundant hydro-power potentialities.•
The industrial sector consumes the most electricity (46.6%), followed by the residential sector (34%) and the commercial sector (19.2%). Electricity transmission accounted for only 0.2% of final electricity consumption in 2011.•
Roughly 70% of Québec households use electricity as their principal heating source.Generation, transmission and distribution
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In 2013, Québec’s electricity generation capacity totalled 43 731 MW1, mainly hydroelectricity (90.2%), but also wind power (5.5%) or biomass-based cogeneration (0.6%).•
Big industrial businesses established in Québec generate 3 965 MW of hydroelectricity capacity to satisfy their own needs.1. Including thermal power plants and fossil energy.
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The private sector and communities are developing the wind power and biomass-based cogeneration options and a number of small hydroelectric power plants.•
TransÉnergie’s power transmission network spans more than 33 600 km. It links the hydroelectric powerhouses located mainly in the territory that the Plan Nord covers and populations in southern Québec.•
Hydro-Québec Distribution’s network and the 10 small local distributors still in operation, whose networks span 115 000 km, reach more than 4.3 million customers in Québec.Potential for electricity options
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Québec has an estimated 45 000 MW of untapped hydroelectric power potential, nearly 20 000 MW of which offers worthwhile economic potential.•
Québec’s exploitable wind power potential, concentrated in the territory that the Plan Nord covers, stands at nearly 8 MW.Innovation
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Through innovation, wind power has experienced impressive growth over the past 15 years. Adaptation to northern conditions and coupling with diesel generators are examples of fields of research in which Québec has proven itself.•
The intelligent electrical power grid will alter the conception of transmission and distribution networks by offering new possibilities:°
advanced metering;°
quicker reaction to fluctuations in supply and demand on the network;°
storage and auxiliary transmission services;°
monitoring and network automation.•
Québec research institutions are also exploring ways of exporting electricity in the form of hydrogen or storage cells.Electricity rates
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Hydro-Québec’s electricity rates for residential customers are among the most advantageous in North America.•
Big businesses also enjoy attractive rates but the competitiveness of such rates in relation to current natural gas prices is less attractive.Electricity’s contribution to Québec’s development
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In 2014, net electricity exports to the US and Canadian markets contributed $814 million to Hydro-Québec’s bottom line.•
Hydro-Québec pays the government water-power royalties, a tax on public services, a dividend and loan guarantee fees. The amounts, which totalled $3.6 billion in 2014, are contributing to the realization of the government’s missions.•
The wind power option represents investments of more than $10 billion and has injected vast sums in the Gaspé Peninsula and MRC de Matane.•
Hydro-Québec is negotiating agreements on drawbacks and benefits with the communities affected by the projects. The agreements are encouraging participation by the communities and the development of economic partnerships. They also seek to mitigate the projects’ environmental and social impacts.Potential and challenges
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Consumption habits must be conducive to enlightened choices and promote better use of electricity.•
Electricity transmission and distribution investment projects can spark social acceptability problems.•
The reliability of supply to consumers connected to off-the- grid power systems must be ensured and reduce recourse to fossil energies.•
Connection to the main grid of certain communities and industrial establishments located in isolated areas poses a challenge.SOURCES OF HEAT
The heat, geothermal energy, passive and active solar energy options and waste heat and steam recovery are ideal energy solutions both from an environmental and an economic standpoint.
The options are also part of the solution to the power deficit that Hydro-Québec anticipates during winter cold snaps.
Description of the different technologies
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Active solar technologies use the sun’s heat to preheat air before it enters buildings or to heat space and water.•
The passive solar energy option relies on the design of buildings that optimize the sun’s contribution in order to heat or light space.•
A geothermal energy system transfers heat or cold from the earth’s crust to buildings.•
Urban heating networks supplied by waste industrial heat provide heat in the form of steam, air or hot water.Potential and challenges
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In Québec, the cost of solar equipment continues to curb its exploitation on a broader scale.•
From a technological standpoint, the performance of surface geothermal energy is improving, which opens worthwhile perspectives in the commercial and institutional sector.•
The available waste industrial heat is equivalent to 40% of the electricity consumed. The main challenge is to enable nearby users to benefit from the thermal discharges.BIOENERGY
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Bioenergy comes from solar energy stored by plants in the form of wood, stems or grains, from which can be derived solid (wood pellets), liquid (ethanol) or gaseous (biogas) energy products.•
The environmental (renewable with low GHG emissions), social (raw materials distributed throughout the territory whose exploitation is readily accepted) and economic (a source of employment and prosperity in the regions) characteristics of bioenergy make it a sustainable energy solution.•
The different bioenergy options can replace all forms of fossil energy, in particular those used in the transportation sector.Liquid biofuels
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Ethanol and biodiesel can be used to replace gasoline, diesel fuel, fuel oil and aviation fuel.•
Québec produces roughly 175 million litres a year of first- generation ethanol. It must also import approximately 350 million litres to satisfy domestic demand.•
The first biofuel production processes relied on food plants such as corn, wheat, canola and soy. Increased demand for the crops had an adverse impact on the prices of basic foodstuffs. That is why Québec is investing to develop a second-generation process using cellulosic material found in residual biomass of forest, agricultural, industrial and municipal origin.Solid biofuels
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Fuelwood is usually produced from tree species that are less useful to primary processing firms.•
At present, residues from wood processing plants (bark, chips, sawdust and shavings) are mainly used to manufacture solid biofuels with added value.Gaseous biofuels
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Gaseous biofuels (biogas) are generated by the fermentation of solid organic matter (waste, manure), sludge (sewage sludge, pig slurry) or aqueous waste (wastewater).•
Biogas is obtained by capturing gas generated by putrescible waste buried in landfills. It contains between 45% and 70% methane.•
Biogas can be purified for injection into the natural gas distribution network. Once it has been compressed or liquefied, it can be used to fuel natural-gas-powered vehicles.•
Anaerobic digestion is an industrial process that optimizes the production of biogas using organic residue.ES30-41A-1502
Innovation
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A winning bioenergy development strategy hinges on the availability of different types of biomass, reliable, efficient conversion technologies, a range of products in demand on the markets, and tools to finance innovation.•
Québec can rely on recognized scientific expertise and the presence of the pulp and paper industry, with which synergies are possible.•
In 2007, Québec supported the creation of the Industrial Research Chair on Cellulosic Ethanol at the Université de Sherbrooke. It subsequently supported the establishment of a demonstration plant and a cellulosic ethanol commercial production unit.Potential and challenges
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Reliance on biofuels to generate heat and electricity and biofuels in the transportation sector are reducing GHG emissions.•
Federal regulations oblige the distributors of petroleum products to mix the equivalent of 2% biodiesel and 5%ethanol into fuels sold in Canada, thereby creating a worthwhile market for Québec manufacturers and their suppliers.
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The price demanded to collect and process organic waste and sludge is facilitating the attainment of the break-even point on investments to produce biofuels and coproducts with added value.•
The Québec agricultural sector would benefit from increased demand if part of its output or waste were used for energy purposes.•
The forest sector could also benefit from additional outlets with the development of the bioeconomy centred on bioenergy and biosourced products with high added value.•
There is genuine potential to replace fossil fuels with biomass but to do so requires long-term stability in supplies and prices.Québec has abundant resources to produce cleaner energies. It can also rely on outstanding stakeholders that are seeking to develop and implement technologies to harness such resources. Québec’s resources, energy, technologies and know-how can be exported and generate significant economic spinoff in several regions.
