Hydro-Québec has employed SNC-Lavalin to contribute to its discussions on Quebec’s future power provide.
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“An evaluation of the situation of the power is at present being carried out in collaboration with SNC-Lavalin to evaluate our choices and inform our ideas on the long run power provide of Quebec,” confirms Caroline Des Rosiers, spokesperson for Hydro-Quebec. The mandate was issued in early August and Hydro-Québec says it’s nonetheless too early to evaluate the full invoice that SNC-Lavalin will ship to Hydro-Québec.
A couple of weeks in the past, Le Journal revealed that the brand new head of Hydro-Québec, Michael Sabia, had initiated a feasibility research to restart the Gentilly-2 nuclear energy plant, which has been inactive since 2012.
SNC-Lavalin is the corporate behind the CANDU expertise, a Canadian heavy water pressurized reactor that has been used to supply power for greater than 60 years, notably in Ontario and likewise in Gentilly.
The CEO drools over the concept of nuclear energy
When SNC-Lavalin obtained this contract, its CEO, Ian L. Edwards, spoke brazenly concerning the significance of nuclear power as an power supply.
“The world has modified in its angle towards new nuclear power, and it should,” he mentioned on a name with analysts in the course of the firm’s most up-to-date leads to August final 12 months. “As a result of if we wish to attain web zero, we’d like nuclear energy as the inspiration for that clear power future,” he mentioned.
The Quebec firm, headquartered in Quebec, owns the CANDU nuclear division in Mississauga, Ontario. This division generated gross sales of greater than $800 million in 2022.
The SNC-Lavalin Shareholders Fund
Below Michael Sabia’s reign on the Caisse de dépôt, it elevated its funding in SNC-Lavalin from 5.26 million shares in 2009 to 34.9 million shares price $1.05 billion on the finish of 2019.
In Might 2023, the Caisse was the corporate’s foremost shareholder with 19.9% of the shares.
In a current letter despatched to his new workers, Michael Sabia talked about that every one choices had been on the desk to handle Quebec’s power problem, together with nuclear energy.
Unhealthy thought
Nevertheless, in accordance with a Léger – Journal de Montréal ballot, a majority of Quebecers (60%) assume it’s a unhealthy thought for Hydro-Québec to supply extra electrical energy by constructing nuclear energy vegetation. “Even the Caquistes are in opposition to it,” emphasizes pollster Jean-Marc Léger.
To mark
The Gentilly-2 energy plant, situated on the southern financial institution of the Saint Lawrence River close to Trois-Rivières, had a gross output of 675 MW (web 635 MW). It was the one commercially operated nuclear energy plant in Quebec.
Hydro-Québec, proprietor and operator of the facility plant, completely closed Gentilly-2 on December 28, 2012 with a view to decommissioning it.