With the help of Hydro-Québec, the mayor of Baie-Comeau, on the North Shore, wants to use the 1,500 megawatts of energy available in his municipality to revive his economy.
Mayor Yves Montigny has asked Quebec for incentives to promote and oversee energy-intensive projects on its territory.
Currently, 1,500 megawatts of the Hydro-Québec network in Baie-Comeau are available for blockchain projects, data centers or the green hydrogen sector. To give an order of magnitude, the Resolute paper mill used 100 megawatts.
The mayor therefore asked Quebec to encourage companies with energy-intensive projects to set up as close as possible to available energy sources, such as Baie-Comeau.
Another issue, the revival of the paper industry could go through the production of solid forest biofuel to replace the use of oil in industries. The finished product could then be sent to European markets via the port of Baie-Comeau.
To carry out all these projects, it will be necessary to attract and retain manpower, but there is a lack of housing. The mayor is therefore planning a program to encourage private developers to build different types of housing on the territory of Baie-Comeau.
Yves Montigny now hopes to see his demands included in the next budget of the Minister of Finance.