Diesel unit will more than &#39d;ouble; output of existing system

KUUJJUAQ – Kuujjuammiut couldn't miss hearing the rumble of blasting this past July as construction workers carved out an access road to the community's new power plant.

The construction of the 1.3 kilometre road kicked off Hydro Quebec's three-year, $45-million project, which will see a new diesel-powered power plant up and running by 2010.

When the power plant reaches full capacity in 2035, its generators will churn out 10.2 MW of electricity, more than double the capacity of Kuujjuaq's present power plant.

The form of the 50-metre by 35-metre power plant has already taken shape on top of the flattened hill outside town where workers laid a concrete foundation on solid bedrock. When finished, the orange and grey-clad power plant, built in the shape of a "T," will be visible from nearly every point in Kuujjuaq.

A 12-room residence next to the power plant, which will be heated by residual heat, is also part of the three-year project.

The joint-venture construction company, Laval Fortin Adams Inc., had about 30 workers on the work site during this past summer, building the road and laying the power plant's foundation – and this company is also expected to bid on the second and third years of the project.

Few Inuit were employed on the work site – many qualified Inuit weren't interested in the job's short construction period, which started in June and ends this month, while imported workers with special skills were needed to lay the power plant's concrete foundation, project supervisors said.

The replacement of Kuujjuaq's power plant has been under discussion for more than 15 years. Its ageing power plant, which lies near a residential area, is now barely able to meet the power needs of the growing community of 2,000. The peak power use of about 3 MW already strains the plant's capacity.

Although the power plant was renovated in 2000 and 2002, two more of its five generating units are near the end of their lifespan.

The new plant will have five generators with a capacity of 6.4 MW. Hydro Quebec plans to increase its capacity even more by 2035, with the installation of eight generators with a capacity of 10.2 MW.

Even then, the new power plant will be smaller than Iqaluit's main power plant, which generates 12.6 MW of power.

Hydro Quebec held public consultations in Kuujjuaq before proceeding with the power plan project. The power corporation also produced an environmental impact study, in French only, in January 2007.

However, when asked about the power plant project underway, most Kuujjuamiut said they knew little about it.

Some said they would have preferred to see a cleaner form of energy for Kuujjuaq, such a hydroelectric or wind park project rather than a larger diesel-powered plant, which will spew even more carbon emissions into the air.

But Hydro-Quebec's environmental impact study says cleaner options for power generation were far too expensive – up to $200 million for a hydro project on High Falls – and too impractical because Kuujjuaq would still need a new back-up diesel power plant.

Even carbon credits, issued to encourage sustainable power production and reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, couldn't make up the difference in the cost between building a new diesel-powered plant and some other cleaner project, the study notes.

A plan to connect Kuujjuaq to Hydro Quebec's main power grid in the South was also examined and rejected because the price tag for the 450-km electrical line and road would reach $750,000 per km or about $340 million.

Hydro Quebec said that the best all-around option was to build a new diesel plant outside the town "to limit the inconveniences" caused by the noise and emissions.