Questions and Answers

Kruger cannot make such a commitment. However, participating owners will be compensated for crop losses on inaccessible portions of their property and may continue to operate on the remainder of their property.

The current configuration will include 7 to 11 wind turbines in Saint-Édouard. The exact number of wind turbines will depend on the wind turbine model chosen, among other factors.

The area available for wind turbine construction could change, but not much. The area available depends on technical, environmental and social constraints, which are often of a regulatory nature. Constraints may sometimes vary due to regulations and best practices if the environmental impact assessment shows that there are no effects.

It is up to each municipality to regulate development on its territory. Kruger is not aware of any development restrictions that would be imposed by the presence of wind turbines on adjacent properties.

Kruger began signing options in winter 2023 to ensure the project’s viability.

The owners are compensated according to the Cadre de référence relatif à l’aménagement de parcs éoliens en milieux agricole et forestier (framework for wind farm development in agricultural and forest environments), developed by Hydro-Québec and the Union des producteurs agricoles. This framework, updated in 2021, specifies compensatory amounts that landowners must receive for option issuance and for using their property to build a wind farm. Such amounts are calculated based on a number of factors, including the area granted, the use of the property, the type and duration of activities, and the type of infrastructure installed.

Option contracts with participating owners are confidential. However, a standard option contract is available for consultation as part of call for tenders 2023-01.

Kruger does not yet have an insurance contract for the project, as it has not yet been selected by Hydro-Québec. Hydro-Québec’s insurance requirements are detailed in call for tenders 2023-01 and available on Hydro-Québec’s website.

Projects are not necessarily cheaper on public land than private land. The majority of a wind project’s costs comes from wind turbines, as well as their installation and transportation. The further away a project is, the greater the cost of transporting components, equipment, materials and workers to the site. In addition, transportation costs and power losses are greater when projects are further away from consumption centres.

The money invested in the project’s development and construction comes from private capital and loans that are repaid following the project’s commissioning. No government grants are issued for the project.

As stipulated in call for tenders 2023-01, a financial guarantee must be submitted in order to set aside the funds needed to dismantle the project. The requirements for these financial quarantees are stipulated by Hydro-Québec.

A wind farm project’s development costs are incurred for the most part at the very beginning, during the development and construction phases. The project becomes profitable after a few years, at which time it can start setting aside funds for its dismantling. If the project owner were no longer able to continue its operations, the project and its supply contract with Hydro-Québec would then be sold to another operator, who would have to comply with the dismantling conditions.

Hydro-Québec did not commission developers to build wind projects. Instead, it issued a call for tenders for the purchase of wind energy and developers can submit their projects. Therefore, Hydro-Québec can benefit from the experience that Québec-based wind farm developers have accrued for more than 25 years. This competitive process enables Hydro-Québec to obtain power at a competitive price. In addition, call for tenders 2023-01 allows communities to benefit from wind farm projects, and even participate as partners.

Hydro-Québec specifically requested that projects eligible for call for tenders 2023-01 be located in specific regions. These regions were selected based on the wish to optimize the capacity of the transmission system rather than build new power lines, thus obtaining power at a competitive price.

This decision is part of the energy transition vision requiring power to be produced closer to consumption centres so as to reduce energy losses associated with long-distance transmission lines.

The location of the wind farm project area in the region is largely driven by wind quality and a positive perspective toward wind energy in the regional county municipality’s (RCM) planning and development schedule.

Hydro-Québec will receive dozens of bids from several developers as part of call for tenders 2023-01, likely including other typical developers such as Invenergy, Innergex, Boralex, RES, EDF, etc. Kruger doesn’t know exactly which developers are working on projects in the region, but only Kruger is involved in the Les Jardins wind farm project.

Kruger estimates that the construction phase will create about 250 jobs of all types in related fields, such as mechanical engineering technologists and technicians, machinists and machining and tooling inspectors, electricians, power line workers, and so on. Local and regional businesses will also benefit directly or indirectly from these activities.

During the operational phase, the project will fill a few highly skilled positions (technical and professional) for the duration of the power supply contract.

According to Information Notice 98-01, the noise level generated by the project must not exceed 40 decibels (dBA) at the exterior wall of the nearest residence. This sound level is equivalent to that emitted by a refrigerator. So it’s as if a refrigerator were placed outside on the residence’s back porch.

The project is configured to comply with this regulation, and monitoring activities will be carried out following the project’s commissioning to confirm that the permissible noise level is respected. Otherwise, the project operator shall correct any noise in excess of the permissible level.

The sound produced by a wind turbine covers a wide spectrum of frequencies that includes low frequencies. Infrasound includes low frequencies that are inaudible to the human ear. These sounds are emitted by a variety of natural and human sources, including thunderstorms, trains, vehicles, planes, refrigerators, fans and air conditioners. Infrasound produced by wind turbines is no different from that produced by those other sources.

Large modern wind turbines don’t make any more noise than the smaller ones. Wind turbine manufacturers are aware of the noise issue and have strived to improve their technology so that wind turbines can be more powerful without being noisier.

The noise levels generated by the project are modelled by certified engineers using sophisticated software. These models use the specific noise emissions data of the wind turbine model obtained from the manufacturer, as well as the project area’s environmental features (topography, soil cover, buildings and other structures, ambient noise levels, etc.). The project is configured using this tool to respect regulatory noise levels (40 decibels) at residences.

Following the project’s commissioning, field measurements independent consultants will perform measurements to confirm that permissible noise levels are met. Results from past projects show that these acoustic models are generally accurate.

Preliminary studies show that several species of birds may be present in the project area.

Bird inventories conducted as part of the EIS will identify species and habitats to be considered during project development and identify potential avoidance and mitigation measures to be proposed to reduce the project’s impact on these species to an acceptable level. The measures to be implemented will be confirmed in collaboration with the Ministère des Forêts, de la Faune et des Parcs (MFFP).

Most studies on anthropogenic causes of bird mortalities show that domestic cats, and collisions with buildings, vehicles and power lines account for about 99% of bird mortalities in Canada and the United States. In these studies, wind turbines account for less than 0,01% of bird mortalities.

Indigenous peoples have ancestral rights over several territories in Québec, and the consideration of Indigenous communities in call for tenders 2023-01 is an action taken by the Government of Québec in its reconciliation process with Indigenous peoples.

Kruger communicates with Indigenous communities in all of its projects and has developed the Des Cultures Wind Farm in partnership with the Kahnawake Mohawks.

The entire collector system is in alternating current.

In order to reduce the project’s footprint, the collector system will be installed on public rights-of-way whenever possible, such as along existing roads and easements. Some sections of the collector system will be installed on participating properties for which an option contract has been signed. These participating owners will receive compensation.

The compensation amounts set out in call for tenders 2023-01 are the result of extensive consultations with municipalities to determine the method for redistributing the proceeds from wind farm projects. The compensatory amount totals $6,227 per installed megawatt (MW) and must be indexed annually to the average consumer price index. In addition, the call for tenders allows the local community to participate in the project as partners and receive benefits commensurate with the level of participation.

Kruger will be responsible for expanding and rehabilitating the roads for the project, and repairing the roads damaged during the project. To that end, a road use agreement will be signed with municipalities, in which independent experts will assess the roads used by the project before, during and after the construction phase.

Manufacturers draw on the experience gained over decades by thousands of wind projects operating in all kinds of environmental conditions around the world. Modern wind turbines are designed to operate in variable conditions, including dusty environments.

There are indeed forestry wind projects on public land. Projects developed in these environments can generate other types of impacts and affect other types of users. They therefore must go through the licensing process and get the necessary permits.

During construction, traffic may be heavier in some areas and partial obstructions may occur during equipment delivery. These situations would occur mainly during the day, between 7:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Since the work will be spread over a large area and sequenced over time, the effects on local traffic will be intermittent and short term.

A transportation plan will be submitted to the municipality, the RCM and the Ministère des Transports for approval. The plan will outline the transportation strategy for the construction phase and how relevant information will be communicated to the public and the municipality during construction. In addition, a clear communication plan will be developed to inform the municipality and the public of all planned activities. Communications will describe the schedule and type of activity, the locations where the activities will take place, and likely traffic impediments.

Property values is a very important issue, and a number of studies have been conducted on this matter. The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory has conducted the most comprehensive studies to date. One such study covers 50,000 home sales in the vicinity of 67 wind farms in nine U.S. states (Hoen et al. 2013[1]), and a second covers 122,000 property sales in Massachusetts (Atkinson-Palombo & Hoen, 2014[2]). These quality studies conclude that there is no statistical relationship between the proximity of wind turbines and property values.

A significant number of factors influence property values including, but not limited to, maintenance (condition), municipal services, community services, the neighbourhood, mortgage rates, environmental phenomena, and of course, the market. The effect of wind turbines is overshadowed by the combination of other factors that may affect property values.

[1] Hoen B. et al., A Spatial Hedonic Analysis of the Effects of Wind Energy Facilities on Surrounding Property Values in the United States, Août 2013.

[2] Atkinson-Palombo, C. and Hoen B., Relationship between Wind Turbines and Residential Property Values in Massachusetts— A Joint Report of University of Connecticut and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 9 janvier 2014.