Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Mr. Chair and members of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Natural Resources, thank you for meeting with me today.
My name is Luis Calzado. I'm the president and chief executive officer of the Association québécoise de la production d'énergie renouvelable, or AQPER.
AQPER represents players in the wind and solar energy sectors, as well as other industrial partners in the energy ecosystem. Our role is to mobilize the sector's expertise and to make a concrete contribution to the energy transition, to decarbonization and to the energy security economy of Quebec and Canada.
In Quebec, despite electricity being almost entirely renewable, fossil fuels still account for 50% of consumption. This highlights the need for electrification. Hydro‑Québec forecasts a 35% growth in demand by 2035 and a 50% increase by 2050. We also depend on the external market. As a result of hydrocarbon imports, Quebec runs a large trade deficit in the energy sector to the tune of $3.5 billion, despite electricity exports to the United States. Investing in renewable energies means investing in an economically strong Canada.
Canada's renewable energy potential remains largely untapped. The wind power sector is a case in point. Despite its excellent deposits, the country generates less than other G7 countries. By way of comparison, high‑potential regions in the United States, such as the Midwest and Texas, generate around ten times more electricity than Canada.
The renewable energy sector has benefits. Renewable energies provide decisive benefits in a rapidly changing environment. First, their deployment period is relatively short. Projects can be delivered in five or six years. Second, their costs are competitive. Since 2010, the cost of wind power has fallen by 40% and the cost of solar power has dropped by 90%. A further 30% to 50% decrease is expected by 2035.
Moreover, renewable energies deliver considerable economic and industrial benefits. We estimate that the economic activity generated by the industrial use of a single terawatt of electrical energy made possible by wind, solar and hydro generation could contribute over $250 million a year to Quebec's real gross domestic product, or GDP. This equates to the annual output of around 75 wind turbines. The 11,000 megawatts of wind power expected in Quebec by 2035 amount to $35 billion in investments, $18 billion in added value, over 112,000 full‑time jobs, $2.6 billion in tax revenue for Quebec and almost $1 billion for the Government of Canada.
With global demand continuing to grow, particularly in wind and solar power, Canada and Quebec have an opportunity to build a strong industrial cluster. For the energy transition and electrification to succeed across the country, public authorities must play a leading role in tackling certain structuring challenges.
The first challenge concerns the capacity of the transmission and distribution grid. The speed of development of renewable energies depends directly on the capacity of the grids to integrate them. Major investments are urgently needed in Quebec and across Canada. Hydro‑Québec's decision to invest $10 billion to strengthen its transmission grid by adding substations and high‑voltage lines on three key areas is certainly a step in the right direction. Producers need predictability when it comes to the development of the grid so that they can plan and optimize the development of new projects.
The second challenge is regulatory. The length and complexity of approval processes make it extremely difficult to achieve electrification and decarbonization objectives. We're calling on all levels of government to speed up the approval process and to optimize the regulations applicable to the renewable energy project.
The third challenge concerns the need for a sufficiently skilled workforce. Without this capacity and coordination, we'll face delays, higher costs and missed economic opportunities.
In conclusion, the guidelines put forward in the national electricity strategy are a step in the right direction. They will help address a number of the challenges just outlined. In particular, we believe that it's vital to continue supporting investments in electricity generation, transmission and distribution in order to increase the country's energy supply. We also welcome the desire to speed up and simplify the authorization process, a key factor in the timely completion of projects.
Predictable public policies and a stable regulatory framework will play an equally important role in attracting the private investment needed to develop energy infrastructure. Lastly, efforts to train and mobilize the skilled workforce must remain a priority in order to support the required development.
I would like to wrap up my remarks by saying that investing in electricity means investing in the Canadian economy. It's an economically rational choice, and not just an environmental obligation.
Thank you for your attention. I look forward to answering your questions.