Quebec to attract USD 9.9bn of wind power investments by 2015

(ADPnews) - Nov 3, 2010 - Quebec is to add 4,000 MW of wind power capacity by 2015, bringing CAD 10 billion (USD 9.9bn/EUR 7bn) in new investments and creating thousands of jobs, according to a study made for the Canadian Wind Energy Association (CanWEA).

"With its growing wind energy manufacturing sector, and plans to install more than 600 MW of new wind energy projects annually for each of the next five years, Quebec has succeeded in making wind energy an engine of economic development," CanWEA's president Robert Hornung said. At present, Quebec's installed wind power capacity stands at 663 MW, enough to power 230,000 households.

The report by consultancy Hatch and economist Jean-Claude Thibodeau for CanWEA predicts that the construction of wind facilities will create 5,210 jobs each year from 2011 to 2015 and an additional 1,400 for maintenance and operation of wind farms in the next five years. The study sees annual revenues for landowners and municipalities in the region to reach CAD 25 million by 2015 thanks to the wind power projects.

On November 2, at its annual conference and exhibition, CanWEA disclosed a plan which envisions the installation of 8,000 additional MW of wind power in Quebec by 2025. This strategy will bring investments of CAD 25 billion, will create 90,000 jobs in the construction phase and 4,500 in operation and maintenance. Economic benefits for municipalities and landowners will rise to CAD 95 million a year.

(CAD 1 = USD 0.992/EUR 0.707)

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