September 7, 2023
BluEarth Renewables Delays Bidding of Des Sources Wind Project (English)
Calgary, Alberta – September 7, 2023 – BluEarth Renewables (“BluEarth” or “the Company”) and Plan A Capital (“Plan A”) have materially advanced the 150 MW Des Sources Wind Project (“Des Sources” or “the Project”) within des Sources Regional County Municipality and the ancestral territory of the W8banakiak.
BluEarth, Plan A and its partners were preparing to submit a proposal to Hydro-Quebec as part of the A/O 2023 Call for Tenders issued in March 2023. BluEarth and Plan A have held various stakeholder meetings and determined that the response timeline, being the shortest in the history of Quebec’s wind energy procurements, is not sufficient to provide stakeholders with enough time to properly review the Project.
BluEarth has been developing renewable energy projects in Canada for more than 12 years and intends to be a long-term partner to the communities in which it operates. Ensuring appropriate timelines are provided for meaningful engagement with stakeholders has always been a requirement for BluEarth. BluEarth and Plan A will utilize the additional time prior to the next anticipated Hydro-Quebec Call for Tenders to further advance the Project and community relationships.
“Quebec is anticipated to require material additional wind energy throughout the decade and beyond,” said Grant Arnold, President and CEO of BluEarth. “BluEarth is committed to developing socially beneficial projects in Quebec to help meet those needs. Des Sources is in an excellent position to provide a source of long-term low-cost wind energy and will continue to be developed on appropriate timelines.” Arnold said further “We are encouraged by the support of local communities, existing Project landowners and numerous additional landowners that have expressed interest in being part of the Project.”
The mayors of the six partnering municipalities provided further commentary:
“We take note of the decision of our partners BluEarth Renewables and Plan A to suspend the submission of the Des Sources wind project to the ongoing Hydro-Québec’s call for tenders, which ends on September 12. Since the beginning of this process of preparing a project on our territory, we have made a commitment to listen to our population. We reaffirm our conviction of the relevance and quality of the project submitted to the population, but we understand the concerns and the need expressed to take more time, all together, to build this promising project for future generations. This experience is only the beginning of a collective conversation about the future of our sustainable development and the opportunity to act collectively in the fight against climate change.”
For more information about the Des Sources Wind Project, please visit dessourceswind.ca
About BluEarth Renewables
BluEarth Renewables brings together extraordinary people with the power to change the future™ by delivering renewable energy to the power grid every day. We are a leading, independent, power producer that acquires, develops, builds, owns and operates wind, hydro, solar and storage facilities across North America. Our portfolio includes over 1 GWAC (gross) in operation, under construction and contracted pre-construction, and over 7 GW of high-quality development projects that are actively being advanced. For more information, visit bluearthrenewables.com or follow us on twitter @BErenewables.
For more information:
Erin Jenken
Manager, Communications
BluEarth Renewables
(587) 324-4238
media@bluearth.ca
