Hydro-Québec does not rule out planting wind turbines at sea

After announcing his intention to explore nuclear energy with small modular reactorsHydro-Québec has not ruled out planting wind turbines at sea in around ten years to produce more electricity.

“There are two advantages: the turbines are much larger (15 MW to 20 MW) and, since they are at sea, the wind quality is better. That’s the theory. In practice, the costs are truly exorbitant,” explains Journal Vincent Trudel, chief operating officer of the wind turbine tower manufacturer Marmen, which has 800 employees in Quebec.

“In the medium term, I have difficulty seeing why, with all the available space we have, the State, or Hydro-Québec, would pay more to put it in the sea when we can have it on the earth at a lower cost?”, he wonders aloud. Techno has plenty of time to evolve between now and 2035, however, he believes.

In recent days, Hydro-Québec has confirmed Journal that it could “consider technologies, such as offshore wind power, which are developing in several countries” after 2035.

The French government defines offshore wind as a way of transforming “the mechanical energy of the wind into electrical energy. An offshore wind turbine, placed on the seabed or floating, benefits from more frequent, stronger and more regular winds than on land.

Canceled projects

In recent years, Marmen, which manufactures wind turbine towers here, won a major offshore wind project on the American east coast, off the coast of New York State, under the Biden Administration. At the Port of Albany, the major project was expected to create 3,200 jobs and $1.4 billion in salaries.

The idea was to plant wind turbines offshore to avoid having to build transmission lines which are often very controversial in the United States.

“Our offshore wind project in Albany is still on hold while awaiting future developments on the American east coast,” underlines Vincent Trudel

“We had won projects there, but the majority were canceled because the costs had been estimated before COVID-19,” he continues.

Innergex and Boralex

In Quebec, the two main wind turbine operators are attentive to Hydro-Québec’s ambitions, but say they are focusing on other specialties for the moment.

“Innergex is more interested in onshore wind power than at sea. All our wind farms are on land,” illustrates its communications director, Karine Vachon.

The Longueuil company, listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange, devotes its energy to hydroelectricity, solar energy and battery energy storage.

For its part, Boralex, a former subsidiary of Cascades in Kingsey Falls, claims to be focusing on the development of solar infrastructure, onshore wind turbines and storage.

“After looking at its potential, it was decided that wind power off shore would not be part of its development plan,” explains its spokesperson Camille Laventure.

Questioned by The Journalthe PQ MP for Matane-Matapédia, Pascal Bérubé, said he had never heard of offshore wind projects in his neck of the woods.