A new project of 20 wind turbines near Lac-Mégantic

A public consultation will soon take place concerning a project which plans to install 20 wind turbines in the Lac-Mégantic sector.

The Office of Public Hearings on the Environment (BAPE) received the mandate from the Minister of the Environment to hold a targeted consultation on the construction project of the Haute-Chaudière wind farm on the territory of the MRC du Granit.

The BAPE’s mandate will begin on February 3, 2025 for a maximum duration of three months.

The impacts

The consultation must target the impact on the landscape, the alignment of the project with Quebec’s different strategies for the fight against climate change, the consent of the local population and the economic benefits of the project.

The commission of inquiry will be composed of Georges Lanmafankpotin, president, and Pierre André, commissioner.

The Haute-Chaudière wind farm proposes to install 20 wind turbines, an electrical substation, access roads, an underground cable network, a service building and permanent wind measurement masts on the territory of the municipalities of Frontenac and Audet as well as the Town of Lac-Mégantic, in Estrie.

The project will be connected to Hydro-Québec’s Lac-Mégantic electrical substation, currently in service on Pie-XI Street.

With a total power of 120 MW, this wind farm would produce enough electricity to meet the needs of approximately 18,700 Quebec households. Its completion would require an investment of approximately $370 million and would create approximately 150 jobs during its construction phase. Planned to be operated for a period of 30 years, the wind farm would be commissioned in December 2026.

The infrastructures would mainly be located in a mountainous region bordering the American border, in a territory with a rural and agroforestry use.

A report in May

The Haute-Chaudière wind farm project follows the development of two projects in the MRC du Granit: the Saint-Robert-Bellarmin wind farm and the Le Granit wind farm.

The dates of the public sessions have not been specified at this time. A report will be submitted to the minister no later than May 3, 2025. It will be published no later than 15 days later.

Elsewhere, the BAPE gave the green light in June 2024 to the Des Neiges wind project, which raised fears within the small community of Saint-Ferréol-les-Neiges, near Quebec.

Approximately 57 wind turbines should therefore be installed, including 17 near the boundaries of Mont-Sainte-Anne park. It will be the largest wind farm in the country.

Construction will begin this spring.