Hydro-Québec, Canada’s largest electricity producer and one of the world’s largest hydroelectric power producers, announced this Wednesday it closed a 40-year deal with Evolugen, the Canadian operating business of Brookfield Renewable.
Firstly, the deal is an escalating electricity purchase agreement; under which Hydro-Québec will purchase the output of the Lièvre hydro-electric portfolio in Québec with 263 MW of capacity. Evolugen operates the assets. Deliveries of output from the facilities began on December 31, 2021.
Moreover, the deal comes at a time when Hydro-Québecplans to increase its output to meet the increasing demand. According to the statement, the company is actively looking for strategies to meet up the demand.
Particularly, through the deal with Evolugen, it is contracting the capacity comprised of four generating stations; located along Rivière du Lièvre in Outaouais. The facilities will contribute approximately 1.5 TWh annually, which is equivalent to the energy used by close to 90,000 homes.
In addition, the agreement involves integrating Evolugen’s Lièvre generating fleet, into Hydro-Québec’s generation planning. It also includes priority access rights associated with the US market.
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Hydro-Québec facing increasing demand from winter
Pierre Despars, Vice President – Corporate Strategy and Business Development at Hydro-Québec, said about the matter. “With this strategic agreement, we are adding capacity and renewable energy to our supply in a context of increasing demand in both Québec and neighboring markets.”
He also remarked. “The opportunity to purchase output from reliable hydroelectric generating stations that are currently in operation and already connected was appealing for many reasons. This agreement is particularly useful for us during winter peaks.”
On the other hand, Josée Guibord, CEO of Evolugen, commented. “We are pleased to sign a strategic agreement with our long-standing partner, Hydro Québec, to contract our Lièvre assets for the next 40 years.”
Finally, the executive said. “Our team works hand-in-hand with customers to provide tailored clean energy solutions, like this one, that fit our customers’ objectives and reduce their exposure risk.”
