Quebec premier 'confident' $10B Hydro-Qubec project will go through despite referendum loss

While voters in Maine said no to a multibillion-dollarpower line project through the state that would see Quebec exporting electricity toMassachusetts for 20 years,Premier Franois Legaultsays he is "confident" the project will still come to fruition.

In a Tuesdayreferendum, the majority ofMaine voted against the Hydro-Qubec project.In total, just over a third of eligible voters cast aballot.

Legault commented Wednesday onthestinging setback for the Crown corporation and his government's plan to make Quebec the "battery of North America."

"We knew that the referendum would be tight. We indeed have a plan B," he saidduring a press briefing at the United Nations (UN) Conference on Climate Change in Glasgow, Scotland. He notedthat the governor of Massachusetts, Charlie Baker,is determined that the deal go through.

Hydro-Qubec is now considering its legal options. The line is already being built and worth billions of dollars to the Quebec public utility and to its American partners.

Sophie Brochu, CEO of Hydro-Qubec, says regardless of citizens' opposition, the project was approved through legitimate processes, and it's already underway.

"The project has its permits. It exists. It's under construction. So we can't say the project can't exist," she told Radio-Canada's Tout un matin.

"We can write all the bills we want, but that won't change reality."

In a short statement, Hydro-Qubec saidit will "take the necessary actions to have its rights recognized and ensure the continued construction of the project, which will make a significant contribution to the fight against climate change."

In a separateinterview with CBC News, Lynn St-Laurent, a spokesperson for the utility, she says the Crown corporation will be considering a legal challenge.

Respect democratic process: Qubec Solidaire

Quebec Energy MinisterJonatan Julientold reporters Wednesday he was disappointed with the results of the referendum, but he says the project is in the right legal placeto move forward.

"We had obtained from January all the authorizations, so we are looking at all the options to go ahead with this project," he said.

"We are not demobilizing resources.We are in the field and we are working."

On Tuesday morning, theLiberal Party attacked Legault's leadership.

"What happened yesterday, of course, was a failure.It is a failure for all Quebecers, then it is also a failure, very clearly, for Franois Legault," said Pierre Arcand, former minister of energy andthe Official Opposition Critic for Energy and Natural Resources.

WATCH | Drone footage of the Maine hydro project:

Drone of Maine hydro project

3 years ago

Duration 0:50

Cutting of the forest path is well underway, as seen from this drone footage shot in June at Johnson Mountain, Maine, and supplied by project opponents with the Courtesy of Yes on 1 campaign.

For its part, Qubec Solidairesaid it believes that the province must respect theresult of the referendum, even if the outcome does not suit Quebec.

"This is not the decision we wanted.I think everyone is disappointed today.At the same time, we must respect the democratic process," said leader Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois.

Leader of the PartiQubcois, Jol Arsenault, does not blame the Legault government for the referendumloss.

However, Arsenaultsays Legault must understand that his "green battery" project does not absolve him of finding solutions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Quebec.

'I am confident that it will be done'

Meanwhile, Legault says he is looking at different scenarios with Hydro-Qubec and with Massachusetts.

"There are different paths we can take to get to Massachusetts and there are also different means," he said, explaining that he could not provide more details.

"I am confident that it will be done."

Known as the New England Clean Energy Corridor,the 233-kilometre project is projected to generate $10 billion US for Hydro-Qubec over 20 years.

Hydro-Qubecand its American partner, Central Maine Power, have all of the necessary permits in place and construction started in January 2020,but citizens and non-government groups opposed to the project gathered the 60,000 signatures needed to force a referendum in Maine.

Brochu, Hydro-Qubec's CEO,says fossil fuel companies incited citizens to collect signatures and submit a bill against the project.

"Voters in Maine exercised their rights they were within all their rights to do what they did. But now when you understand the backstory, you understand the motivations behind it."

The Maine Public Utilities Commissionhad saidthis project would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 3.6 million metric tons per year the equivalent of taking 700,000 cars off the road.

But some people in Maine have protested against the fact that the project requires cutting down 1,000trees,even though most of those trees have already been cleared.Others were opposed to a foreign companyHydro-Qubec providing power to Americans.

Pierre-Olivier Pineau,a professor at business school HEC Montralwho specializes in energy policy, says the nixing of the project is bad news not only for Quebec, but for theentirety ofNew England.

"We'll need more interconnections if we want to decarbonize our economy, and [the outcome of the referendum] unfortunately is a sign that citizens aren't ready."

This is thesecond time Hydro-Qubec's plans to export power to the U.S.have hit a roadblock. In 2019, Hydro-Qubec abandoned a plan to export power through New Hampshire because of public opposition.