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On June 9, Quebec company Cascades announced the construction of a solar power plant project to supply its industrial complex in Kingsey Falls, Quebec. The power generated by the plant will be used to heat water for the complex, reducing the use of natural gas.
This project – a world first for the pulp and paper industry – uses technology developed by another Quebec company, Rackam. In addition, the Université de Sherbrooke will carry out a study of the project to identify ways to improve the technology.
There are basically three types of solar technologies:
- Passive solar, which uses the sun's heat inside our homes and buildings (facing buildings towards the sun, making more windows south-facing, etc.).
- Solar photovoltaic, which generates electricity.
- Solar thermal energy, which uses the sun to heat liquid or air. In the case of Cascades, the new plant will use a parabolic solar concentrator to heat water.
Solar energy is one of the fastest-growing forms of energy. Production has gone from 1 gigawatt (GW) in 2000 to nearly 25 GW in 2014. Although use is growing around the world, growth is fastest in China.
This more than $1 million project received $400,000 in funding from the Ministère de l'Énergie et des Ressources. Minister Pierre Arcand was on hand for the announcement, along with Stéphanie Trudeau, vice-president, Strategy, Communication and Sustainability, at Gaz Métro, which invested $80,000 in the project.
This is not the first time that Gaz Métro has partnered with Cascades. "Since 2001, we have collaborated on 55 feasability sutdies and projects to implement energy efficiency measures in their various plants in Quebec," said Stéphanie Trudeau.
Minister Arcand said, "With this initiative, Cascades and Rackam prove that environmental responsibility and economic development can go hand in hand."
Hear, hear!
This article by Steven Guilbeault, senior director of Equiterre, originally appeared in French in the Métro newspaper.
