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Eastmain hydroelectric plant a go |
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Thursday, 11 January 2007 |
CBC.CA News
The Quebec government has announced that construction has begun on a controversial $5-billion hydroelectric project it is calling the biggest and most important of its kind in a decade.
The Hydro Quebec project will divert the Rupert River and build two hydroelectric plants, the Eastmain A-1 and La Sarcelle, which should become operational in 2010 and are expected eventually to generate as much as 900 megawatts of power.
Quebec Premier Jean Charest oversaw the announcement Thursday, which took place at Hydro Quebec's headquarters, a last-minute venue chosen after the government cancelled its original plan to launch the project in Waskaganish, the Cree community located at the mouth of the Rupert River.
He was flanked by Hydro Quebec president Thierry Vandal, who called the diversion a "very lucrative" project that will eventually supply the province with cheap electricity.
Quebec Environment Minister Claude Béchard bragged about the project's "green" value, and its capacity to create cleaner, more environmentally friendly energy.
The plants are "long-term solutions to fight greenhouse gas emissions," that will put Quebec at the forefront of the fight against climate change, he said.
The project is also expected to generate 27,000 jobs in total over the next decade.
The Cree nation will benefit from up to $70 million in annual profits from the project, which was brokered in 2002 through the Paix des Braves agreement with the federal and provincial governments.
Critics have blasted the project because of its potential impact on the river's ecosystem and the Cree lifestyle.
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