Hydro-Quebec, a Canadian electricity utility, has announced the completion of two solar parks with a total capacity of 10 MW. The two facilities, which are Quebec’s first operating PV plants, have been under construction since the summer of 2019.
The plants, which have capacities of 7.5 MW and 2.5 MW, are intended to assist Hydro-Quebec in determining if solar energy is well matched to Quebec’s climate generating fleet, and transmission network. The 2.5 MW project consists of 4,620 monofacial and bifacial panels mounted on both fixed structures as well as single-axis trackers. Meanwhile, the 7.5 MW plant is equipped with 25,740 bifacial panels installed on permanent structures.
Quebec’s government has set a goal of reducing petroleum use by 40% by 2030, eliminating the use of thermal coal, increasing the percentage of renewable energy in overall energy output by 25%, and increasing bioenergy production by 50%.