The Province of Quebec in Canada is known for it’s hydro-electricity. In fact Hydro-Quebec is a world leader in the domain. But something other than hydro power could be useful for the Province. It seems that wind generated electricity could be the next big thing for Quebec.

when the wind blows, you can reduce the flow at dams and save that water for later, a bit like charging up a battery

Via: Treehugger

So Quebec Premier Jean Charest approved 15 bids for 2,004 megawatts by 2015, at a cost of C$5.5-billion. He’s calling the project “the largest tender for wind-powered energy ever awarded in a single block in North America.” Once built, the wind farms will generate enough power to heat and light 320,000 Quebec homes.

he projects are the second phase of a program that has already seen 1,000 megawatts of wind-powered energy awarded by the province. Quebec currently generates more than 400 megawatts from about a dozen wind farms, mostly located in the Gaspé region.

Exporting Clean Energy Could Help with Global Warming
Part of the goal is to export more electricity to Ontario and the North-Eastern U.S., something that would probably displace some electricity generated by coal, or at the very least slow down the construction of new power plants.

In May of next year, a transmission line to Ontario with a capacity of 1,250 megawatts will come online.

Winning bids were by REpower Inc. (who will build 2-megawatt turbines for 5 wind farms) and Enercon Inc (we wrote about their impressive E-126 wind turbine recently).