QUÉBEC CITY - The Honourable Gary Lunn, Minister of Natural
Resources, today announced that the Baie-des-Sables Wind Energy Project,
completed by Cartier Wind Energy, will receive more than $31 million, over ten
years, under the ecoENERGY for Renewable Power initiative. Minister Lunn made
the announcement at the Canadian Wind Energy Association of Canada (CanWEA ) Conference in Québec
City.
"Canada must find a balance between energy production and the protection of
our health and the environment," said Minister Lunn. "Funding for the
Baie-des-Sables Wind Energy Project sends a clear signal that our government is
committed to increase the supply of clean, renewable energy for Canadians while
helping Canada's wind power industry grow."
The Baie-des-Sables Wind Energy Project has 73 General Electric 1.5-megawatt
turbines, with a total capacity of 109.5 megawatts. This is the first of six
projects planned by Cartier Wind Energy. When all the projects are operational,
Cartier Wind Energy will be the largest producer of wind power in the province
of Quebec, with a capacity of some 740 megawatts.
"Cartier Wind Energy is proud to contribute to the development of wind energy
potential in Quebec. We are thankful for this support. As per our power purchase
agreement, 75 percent of this funding will go directly to Hydro-Québec, lowering
the already affordable cost of wind energy and benefiting Hydro-Québec's
customer base," said Gilles Lefrançois, Chairman of the Board of Cartier Wind
Energy.
The ecoENERGY for Renewable Power initiative is providing $1.48 billion
to increase Canada's supply of clean electricity from renewable sources such as
wind, biomass, low-impact hydro, geothermal, solar photovoltaic and ocean
energy.
ecoENERGY for Renewable Power will encourage the production of 14.3 terawatt
hours of new electricity from renewable energy sources, enough electricity to
power about one million homes. It will also result in reductions of greenhouse
gas emissions that are equivalent to taking one million cars off the road.
FOR BROADCAST USE:
Natural Resources Minister Gary Lunn has announced $31 million for a Quebec
wind energy project under the ecoENERGY for Renewable Power initiative. The
Baie-des-Sables Wind Energy Project will operate 73 wind turbines, generating
about 109 megawatts of electricity.
Media may contact:
Louise GirouardDirector of CommunicationsOffice of the
MinisterNatural Resources CanadaOttawa613-996-2007
Martin LoiselleGeneral ManagerCartier Wind Energy450-928-0426
The general public may contact:
Mon-Fri, 8:30-4:30 EDTTelephone: 613-995-0947TTY:
613-996-4397(teletype for the hearing-impaired) E-mail: questions@nrcan.gc.ca
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