This week, Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions (CED) announced funding for an expansion of Lac-Mégantic’s downtown solar microgrid.
$1,005,000 in non-repayable contributions is being directed towards two projects: a public space with a multifunctional solar shelter and the provision of solar panels and batteries for the town’s new fire station.
“The multifunctional solar shelter is a key element of the project since it is a model for integrating technology into the heart of an already active living environment,” says Julie Morin, Mayor of Ville de Lac-Mégantic.
She adds that the fire station is the “first fire station in Quebec to be equipped with solar panels,” which will make it “a model of energy efficiency and help make Lac-Mégantic a leader in the energy transition.”
Rebuilding Sustainably
Most of us remember Lac-Mégantic as the site of a tragic 2013 rail disaster, when a train carrying crude oil derailed and exploded in Lac-Mégantic’s downtown core, killing forty-seven people and destroying thirty buildings. Most of the rest of the downtown’s buildings suffered extensive contamination from the oil and needed to be demolished.
But the town is also the site of Québec’s first microgrid, which came online in 2021. The 2013 environmental tragedy spurred the town to build back sustainably, with renewable energy as a core component of the town’s recovery efforts.
Morin explains:
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“Lac-Mégantic is the first city in Quebec to benefit from such an innovative energy transition project, with the first neighbourhood-level electrical microgrid in Quebec.”
The microgrid includes 2,200 solar panels with a capacity of 800kW, along with 700kWh of battery storage. It’s connected to 30 buildings in the downtown core and while it can operate independently, it also connects to Hydro‑Québec’s main grid and can feed energy back into it.
Buildings in the core are also outfitted with energy efficiency management features and an EV charging station.
Member of Parliament for Compton–Stanstead and Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, The Honourable Marie-Claude Bibeau, says:
“Innovation is a core priority for our government, and we support the adoption of cleaner energy processes. The Lac‑Mégantic project is an example to be followed in making the ecological transition, and this is encouraging for the future.”
Image credit: gastonquirion
