Hydro-Québec has reached an agreement with the Atikamekw community of Opitciwan and Société en commandite Onimiskiw Opitciwan (SCOO) to build a 4.8MW forest biomass cogeneration plant that will replace the community's diesel-fired power generation, with commercial operation expected to begin this month.
Under the 25-year agreement, which includes an option for a further 15-year extension, the utility will also fund the acquisition and installation of a dryer at the Opitciwan sawmill, majority-owned by the Conseil des Atikamekw d'Opitciwan (CAO).
The project is estimated to cost C$60.2 million (around $45 million), with funding contributions from the Quebec provincial and Canadian federal governments alongside investment from CAO and SCOO.
The Atikamekw are a First Nations people numbering around 8,000 across several communities in northern Quebec; Opitciwan itself is home to close to 3,000 residents.
Hydro-Québec says the new plant will cut the community's diesel consumption by around 85%, while reducing odour and noise pollution and lowering the volume of wood products and diesel that need to be transported to and from the remote site.
The utility estimates the switch will avoid roughly 13,000 tonnes of CO2-equivalent emissions annually — some 325,000 tonnes over the 25-year contract term — equivalent to taking around 5,000 cars off the road each year.
The project is expected to generate 40 jobs during construction and 15 permanent positions once operational.
"Replacing the current diesel plant with one that's powered by forest biomass from the sawmill is a huge step forward," said Denis Clary, President of SCOO.
Cogeneration plants of this kind are among several forest-biomass and remote-community power projects Hydro-Québec has pursued in recent years as part of efforts to reduce diesel reliance across the province's northern and Indigenous communities.
Hydro-Québec to build biomass cogeneration plant for Atikamekw community in Quebec
