Wind Power and Hydropower

2005 - Hydro-Québec Distribution launches a call for tenders to purchase 2,000 MW of wind power.

2004 - Following a March 5, 2003, decision by the Québec government, Hydro-Québec Distribution launches an initial call for tenders in May 2003 to purchase 1,000 MW of wind power. Contracts are awarded in October 2004 based on the lowest unit cost, including transmission.

2002–2004 - Hydro-Québec Production pioneers the move to wind power by signing contracts to purchase a total of nearly 500 MW of wind-generated electricity from private producers.

2001 - Hydro-Québec publishes its 2002–2006 Strategic Plan, in which the company commits to develop Québec's wind power potential through a targeted purchasing program. Purchases could total up to 100 MW per year.

2001 - Transfer to Hydro-Québec of the wind test bank at Matane, which comprises three wind turbines rated 750 kW each.

1999 - The second phase of the Énergie Le Nordais project is brought into commercial service in Matane, with 57 wind turbines rated 750 kW each.

1998 - The first phase of the Énergie Le Nordais project is brought into commercial service in Cap-Chat, with 76 wind turbines rated 750 kW each

1998 - Hydro-Québec transfers responsibility for the wind measurement program to the Québec department of natural resources (MRN).

1997 - Hydro-Québec launches a wind measurement program specifically geared to the generation of wind power, with four meteorological towers. The MRN also sets up meteorological towers of its own.

1995 - In conjunction with the MRN, the University of Québec at Rimouski and the consulting firm Wind Economics and Technology, Inc., Hydro-Québec prepares a wind map based on available data to assess the potential of wind power in Québec.

1987 - Trials of a combined wind-diesel system are conducted at the Atlantic Wind Test Site in Prince Edward Island.

1987 - Experimental wind power project (Éole) employing a 4-MW vertical-axis wind turbine with a rotor height of 96 m and measuring 64 m in diameter at midpoint. This project was conducted in collaboration with the National Research Council of Canada (NRC). The wind turbine operated commercially from March 1988 to April 1993, producing about 12,000 MWh. It is no longer in operation.

1986 - Installation of a 65-kW horizontal-axis wind turbine at Kuujjuaq (off-grid system). The turbine has been dismantled and is currently used for educational purposes at the Cégep de la Gaspésie et des Îles, a college located in the Gaspé–Magdalen Islands region.

1977 - Installation by the NRC and IREQ of an experimental 230-kW vertical-axis wind turbine in the Magdalen Islands. This turbine is no longer in operation.

1975 - Start of research at IREQ with the installation of a 40-kW vertical-axis wind turbine. This site is no longer in operation.