KINGSEY FALLS – Pierre Arcand, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources and Minister responsible for the Northern Plan, Mario Plourde, President and Chief Executive Officer of Cascades Inc., Mathieu Chagnon, President of Rackam, and Stéphanie Trudeau, Vice-President, Strategy, Communication and Sustainability at Gaz Métro, proceeded today (June 9) with the announcement and ceremonial groundbreaking of the solar power plant project to supply the Cascades units in Kingsey Falls.

Cascades and Rackam will install a powerful, 1,490 m2 concentrated solar power (CSP) system on a 4,000 m2 lot, to reduce consumption of natural gas used to produce the hot water required by the industrial complex. This is a world premiere in the pulp and paper industry.

Financing for the $1,073,830 project comes in part from a $463,500 grant from Quebec’s department of energy and natural resources through the former Programme d’aide à l’innovation en énergie (PAIE), now part of the Technoclimat program. Gaz Métro is also contributing $76,000 to the project through its Innovation program.

“Technoclimat is an important tool in supporting the development of new technologies in the area of energy efficiency and emerging energy resources that contribute to reducing greenhouse gases. I am proud to support this project which is not only a world premiere in the pulp and paper industry, but also the first in Quebec in any sector. With this initiative, Cascades and Rackam prove that environmental responsibility and economic development can go hand in hand. This approach perfectly matches our government’s priorities,” said Arcand.

“Once again, Cascades is a sustainable development pioneer. Our company is already two times more energy efficient than the Canadian pulp and paper industry average. The project, which was launched in collaboration with a partner from the region, will allow us to still further reduce the environmental impact of our activities, in addition to reducing our natural gas bill,” said Plourde.

“We are proud to launch such a large project in collaboration with Cascades,” said Mathieu Chagnon, President of Rackam. “This is the first solar power installation in Quebec that uses our new generation of S20 collectors. These collectors are twice as big as the ones we used in previous projects, and much more efficient. The Kingsey Falls installation will in fact help the technology progress, thanks to our research partnerships with the University of Sherbrooke. The project is a real step ahead that will advance technological expertise in Quebec.”

When complete, the installation will produce 4,440 GJ/year that will be used to raise the temperature of 87,500 m3 of pressurized water from 106°C to 118°C yearly, and will generate savings of 139,700 m3 of natural gas.