Hydro-Québec announces a new call for tenders for wind power and presents the capacity of its power system

Montréal – In response to questions received during its dialogue on Action Plan 2035, Hydro-Québec is presenting the capacity mapping of its power system. The publication of this information will provide more predictability to all of Québec’s economic and energy partners, as well as improve coordination among project developers, Hydro-Québec and municipal players. 

Hydro-Québec’s capacity mapping involves two components:

• Potential to integrate wind power projects submitted under calls for tenders with commissioning expected between 2031 and 2035 (map in french here).
• Capacity to connect industrial projects to the transmission system in 13 sectors where demand is greatest (map in french here). Please note that this does not refer to Québec’s overall energy availability for new industrial projects, but rather to the local transmission network capacity in certain industrial zones.

Call for tenders for wind power in 2026 in conjunction with host communities

Hydro-Québec is also announcing a new call for tenders for wind power that will be launched in spring 2026 to meet the growing demand for electricity. As set out in the Wind Power Development Strategy, smaller-scale projects will be handled through calls for tenders as a complement to larger-scale projects where Hydro-Québec will be the principal contractor.  

Strict criteria in favour of Québec content and social acceptability

Under the new call for tenders for wind power, Hydro-Québec will assign higher weight to Québec content when evaluating projects. It will give preference to local content and expenses incurred in Québec, while ensuring that project costs remain competitive in order to maintain affordable, attractive rates.  

Social acceptability remains a key criterion in project selection to ensure smooth integration into host communities. Only those projects having the support of the municipalities will be carried out. Public consultation prior to submission of bids is therefore essential, and Hydro-Québec will favour projects developed in partnership with host communities and First Nations. Municipalities and MRCs wishing to partner on wind power projects could be involved in their development and benefit from a portion of the revenue. In keeping with the dialogue on the Action Plan 2035, Hydro-Québec will hold a consultation on the terms and conditions of the call for tenders from December to February, ahead of the official launch.   

Lastly, in order to provide predictability and time to communities and developers to prepare projects, Hydro-Québec plans to launch a tendering process with a selection of longer time frames for developers wishing to submit projects over the next few years.    

To view the detailed capacity mapping, please visit:

https://www.hydroquebec.com/data/projets/presentation-capacites-integration-production-eolienne.pdf [in French only].

https://www.hydroquebec.com/data/projets/presentation-zones-raccordement-industriel.pdf [in French only].