Hydro-Québec has selected Stantec to support the development of its first adaptation plan to mitigate the risks of climate change on its facilities and operations.
The project forms part of Hydro-Québec’s 2020-2024 Strategic Plan and focuses primarily on identifying and analyzing the potential impacts of climate change on Hydro-Québec’s assets and operations across Quebec, including hydropower plants and dams, and transmission and distribution lines.
The team will use current climate data and knowledge of extreme weather events, as well as future climate projections developed using climate modelling to develop the initial adaption plan. Researchers at the Hydro-Québec research centre and the Ouranos consortium will also be called on for their expertise. The resulting plan will include operational adaptation measures for assets that may be vulnerable, as well as guidance for protecting the physical integrity of at-risk facilities.
“Climate change is one of the biggest issues facing our clients, and we are proud to team up with Hydro-Québec on its climate change adaptation plan,” says Arielle Kadoch, Stantec’s sector lead, Power – Eastern Canada. “Stantec is committed to sustainable development and this project allows us to take another step in answering the challenges of climate change.”
To carry out this study with Hydro-Québec’s experts, Stantec will draw upon a network of climate change specialists, risk management engineers, geographic information systems (GIS) specialists, urban planners, floodplain managers, and water and infrastructure specialists.
“Climate change is a planet-wide concern and Hydro-Québec increasingly feels the effects of weather-related phenomena on its operations, whether it’s more frequent or abundant rainfall, strong winds, or heat waves,” said Céline Cusson, Hydro-Québec’s manager of governance and strategic issues, Environment Division. “Our proactive development of this adaptation plan in conjunction with Stantec will enable us to better protect our assets and operations. We are confident that Stantec’s experience in this area will help us develop a robust plan for addressing the challenges of climate change.”
Stantec is a leader in sustainable development through its operations and projects and was recently recognized as one of the 100 most sustainable corporations in the world by Corporate Knights. The firm was also recently rewarded for its climate change efforts with a score of A- on the CDP climate change index (formerly known as the Carbon Disclosure Project) for the second year running. Stantec has successfully completed numerous climate change-related risk and impact management assessments in Quebec and around the world.
Featured image from Stantec.
