(New York) Prime Minister François Legault has closed the door to nuclear power, at least for the moment.
“For the moment, we are not touching that,” replied the Prime Minister when questioned on the subject at a press scrum in New York on Tuesday.
The government is looking for new sources of energy. In an interview with La Presse Canadienne in Quebec’s official residence in New York, François Legault affirms that there are many avenues to explore: energy efficiency; negotiations with Newfoundland and Labrador over Churchill Falls and Gull Island; raise existing dams and build new ones. Nuclear power is not one of them. “It’s not in the plans,” he assured.
However, the Prime Minister seemed open to the nuclear issue some time ago. In August, Radio-Canada reported that the Prime Minister had raised the idea of nuclear power in front of dozens of deputies in the National Assembly last April.
Questioned about his leader’s statement on Tuesday, the Minister of the Economy, Pierre Fitzgibbon, maintained his line. “At the moment we are looking at everything that is possible because we know that we have a significant deficit in terms of our supply of green electrons,” he said.
Prime Minister Legault participated Tuesday morning in the announcement of the start of construction of the New York converter station for the Champlain Hudson Power Express transmission line. New York State Governor Kathy Hochul was on hand for the announcement.
In November 2021, Hydro-Québec signed a contract with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) for the export of 10.4 terawatt hours of electricity to the American metropolis for 25 years.
While the Quebec government continues to assert that more energy will be necessary for future economic projects – particularly the battery sector – François Legault does not see any contradiction in selling electricity to the Americans.
“Whether it is this contract or the contract for companies that come to set up in Quebec, it is from the surpluses that we currently have in Quebec. Now we have dozens of proposals for investment projects in Quebec where we would need additional electricity,” he explained.
This line will provide the equivalent of 20% of New York City’s electricity needs. Its commissioning is scheduled for May 2026. The benefits are estimated at 30 billion, according to the Prime Minister. Could this money be used to finance new dams?
“It is certain that future projects will cost several tens of billions of dollars. Hydro-Québec still has borrowing capacity. It’s a very healthy company. “It’s certain that this revenue improves the portrait of Hydro-Québec,” he maintained.