Quebec premier inaugurates La Romaine hydroelectric complex 14 years after work began

Quebec Premier François Legault inaugurated the la Romaine hydroelectric complex on the province's North Shore Thursday morning.

The newly inaugurated Romaine hydroelectric complex could serve as a model for future projects that are sorely needed in the province, Legault said.

"It brings me a lot of pride. It is truly the symbol of Quebec ingenuity," he said as he opened the vast power plant.

Legault was accompanied at today's event by Jean Charest, who was Quebec premier when construction began in 2009, as well as Hydro-Québec president and CEO Michael Sabia. 

La Romaine is comprised of four power stations and is the largest hydro project constructed in the province since the Robert Bourassa generation facility, which was commissioned in 1979. It is the biggest hydro installation since the James Bay project. 

The construction work for Romaine-4 was supposed to finish in 2020, but it was delayed the COVID-19 pandemic, the death of four workers due to security flaws and soil decomposition problems. 

The $7.4-billion la Romaine complex can produce eight terawatt hours of electricity per year, enough to power nearly 470,000 homes.

It generates its power from the Romaine River, located north of Havre-St-Pierre, Que., near the Labrador border.

Demand for hydroelectricity surging

Legault said that Quebec still doesn't have enough electricity to meet demand from industry, and Quebecers need to consider more ways to boost the province's ability to power future projects. The premier has said previously that demand is expected to surge by an additional 100 terawatt-hours by 2050 — half the current annual output of the provincially owned utility.

Legault's environmental plan of reducing greenhouse gases and achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 hinges on increased electrification, so the electricity needs for transport and industry will be massive.

An updated strategic plan from Hydro-Quebec will be presented in November outlining those needs, president and CEO Michael Sabia told reporters on Thursday.

Legault said the report will trigger a broader debate on energy transition and how the province can be a leader in the green economy. He said he wasn't ruling out any potential power sources — except for a return to nuclear power.

"For the next months, the next years, we are going to have important questions to ask ourselves in Quebec," Legault said. "We will need to have a societal debate."

Legault said wind power alone is not ideal because it is intermittent, so hydroelectricity remains the province's main focus. He said the Romaine experience could serve as a blueprint for future projects.

He said several dam projects are on the table.

But Ekuanitshit Chief Jean-Charles Pietacho warned that he would not allow the construction of a hydro dam on the North Shore's Magpie River. The river is a culturally significant spot for the Innu of Ekuanitshit. It was granted legal personhood status in a bid to protect it from future threats, such as hydro development, in 2021.

"Magpie is untouchable," he said.

Pietacho noted the construction also flooded a large part of his people's traditional territory.

"The eldest of our village, she turned 92 on Oct. 5, it would have been awkward to invite her with me today because her birthplace was flooded," he said.

He invited the various stakeholders to "rethink" relations and agreements with First Nations and Inuit. 

Legault said the Ekuanitshit chief "is worried for nothing" and said no project is planned on the Magpie. But the premier confirmed another on the Petit-Mecatina remains "under analysis."

Pierre-Olivier Pineau, HEC professor and the chair in energy sector management, said the government should listen to the Innu community. 

"They rightly want to have their say in these projects. And I think the government should be extremely careful and very well prepared if the government wants to make future developments," he said.