On December 11, 2025, Hydro-Québec announced that a new call for tenders for wind power projects will be launched in spring 2026 to meet Quebec’s growing demand for electricity.
This announcement was made as part of the release of Hydro-Québec’s capacity mapping initiative, which includes two key components: (1) Hydro-Québec’s industrial transmission connection capacity and (2) Hydro-Québec’s wind integration capacity.
Capacity to Connect Industrial Projects to the Transmission System
The first map outlines the current capacity of Hydro-Québec’s transmission network (= 44 kilovolt (kV)) to connect new high-consumption industrial customers (= 25 megawatt (MW)) across 13 industrial zones where Hydro-Québec has received multiple connection requests.
Importantly, the map does not reflect Hydro-Québec’s overall ability to supply energy to new projects, but rather identifies where the existing grid can accommodate new connections as of December 2025 and where future wind-power integration is feasible.
Call for Tenders for Wind Power in 2026 (2031–2035 Expansion)
The second map released by Hydro-Québec identifies designated zones where future projects can be carried out to facilitate the integration with the wider electrical network and the capacity for each project. These new smaller-scale projects, to be developed in conjunction with host communities, will be selected through the spring 2026 call for tenders with commissioning expected between 2031 and 2035. Twelve geographic areas have been identified, including the South Shore of Montréal, Montérégie, Centre-du-Québec, Eastern Townships, Chaudière-Appalaches and Lanaudière. As previously communicated, larger scale projects will involve Hydro-Québec as the principal contractor.
Hydro-Québec will hold a public consultation on the tender’s terms and conditions from December 2025 to February 2026, ahead of the official launch.
Hydro-Québec will give greater weight to Quebec content when evaluating projects, and social acceptability remains a key criterion in project selection. Only projects that secure clear municipal support will move forward. As a result, early public consultation is becoming a decisive step before bids are submitted, and Hydro-Québec has signaled that it will prioritize proposals built in genuine partnership with host communities and First Nations.
The new tendering process will allow for longer time frames for developers wishing to submit projects over the coming years.
For any questions or further information on the process surrounding the call for tenders, the public hearings or the development, operation and financing of wind farm projects in Quebec or Canada, please contact Sébastien Vilder or any other member of our Energy group.
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