"It is worrisome that Michael Sabia and Pierre Fitzgibbon want to reopen the file today without having demonstrated that it is necessary to meet our ecological transition objectives, without the slightest public debate." "We made the collective choice to get out of nuclear power in Quebec," Bouazzi said in a statement. Haroun Bouazzi, the Québec Solidaire MNA responsible for energy, says it's high time the new Hydro-Québec CEO presents his vision of Quebec's energy future to a parliamentary committee, seeing as he has yet to propose an energy transition plan. And all wrapped up in false pretences," said Ouellet, who has founded the Climat Québec party and will be a candidate in the upcoming byelection in the Jean-Talon riding.Ĭaisse de dépôt et placement du Québec president and CEO Michael Sabia speaks during a business luncheon in Montreal on Nov. "It's mind-boggling to see a Hydro-Québec CEO, taking office, wanting to relaunch nuclear power in Quebec. "It's pure greenwashing," she said, when reached by email Thursday. Martine Ouellet, who was responsible for Hydro-Québec as minister of natural resources at the time of the plant's closure in 2012, took offence at the company's use of the energy transition to justify a return to nuclear power. Pointing to ongoing debate about a proposed waste disposal facility at Chalk River, Finet and Guyon are particularly concerned with nuclear accidents and radioactive contamination. "There is electrification to be done, but we know that there is first energy sobriety work to be done and energy efficiency work to be done before producing electricity from new sources," she said. "Considering the potential for energy savings that we have, considering also the wind energy potential, the government hasn't done its homework about adding new renewable energy on the grid."Īnne-Céline Guyon of Nature Québec emphasized that Hydro-Québec has done nothing to demonstrate a need for nuclear energy in the province. Jean-Pierre Finet, an analyst from the Regroupement des organismes environnementaux en énergie, says that Quebec and Ottawa labelling nuclear energy as clean is a misrepresentation. Need for nuclear energy not proven, critics say It hopes to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. Quebec must also look to find green energy sources if it hopes to reach its GHG emissions reductions targets.īy 2030, the province needs to reduce its emissions by 35 to 45 per cent below the 1990 levels. "I'm not for or against nuclear, but I think it's a good idea to look at it and see if it can solve some problems that we will have in the future," he said. Sylvain Audette, an associate member of the Research Chair in Energy Sector Management, thinks Quebec should evaluate harnessing nuclear energy, as other provinces have done, to meet the spike in demand for electricity, especially to heat households in winter. Quebec looks beyond hydroelectricity as last planned megaproject set to wrap.The reactor, with a power of 675 megawatts, had been in commercial operation since 1983 before it was decommissioned, following the Fukushima disaster in Japan in 2011. This assessment, first reported by the Journal de Montréal, comes more than 10 years after Pauline Marois's Parti Québécois government decided to mothball the plant, located near Bécancour, Que., about 150 kilometres northeast of Montreal. The public utility confirmed that the assessment was requested by Hydro-Québec's new CEO, Michael Sabia, who in interviews after his appointment made it clear he was open to nuclear power in Quebec. "Given the anticipated situation of energy in Quebec in the next few years, it would be irresponsible at this time to exclude certain energy sources and premature to draw any conclusions," the spokesperson, Maxence Huard-Lefebvre, said. The company says it's hoping to "inform our thinking on Quebec's future energy supply," considering it's globally analyzing the various options for increasing electricity production to decarbonize Quebec. "An assessment of the plant's current condition is underway," a Hydro-Québec spokesperson said in a statement. The government-run utility confirmed Thursday that it is considering the revival of Gentilly-2, the province's only nuclear power plant, which was shut down in 2012. In its quest to increase electricity production in Quebec, Hydro-Québec is contemplating a move back to nuclear power.
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