In Canada Québec gets its first ‘super station’
Financial cooperative group Desjardins Group and Canadian energy providers Hydro-Quebec have announced the opening of what they call Quebec’s first urban ‘super station’ in downtown Montréal at the Quartier des Spectacles.
The station features four 50 kW charging stations and expands the Hydro-Quebec’s Electric Circuit charging network. This is the first of 200 charging stations to be installed throughout Québec and eastern Ontario by 2021.
The Dejardin Group planned the network in partnership with state-run Hydro-Quebec and the partners hope that these 200 additional stations will boost the Electric Circuit’s existing network and encourage those living and travelling in the region to adopt electric modes of transport. Electric Circuit is the largest charging network in Québec with close to 2,000 public charging stations, 200 of which are fast-chargers.
Pauline D’Amboise, Secretary-General and Vice-President Governance and Sustainable Development Division at Desjardins Group said: “This project is just one of the many important decisions we’ve made in recent years to accelerate the energy transition. We’ve also made our operations carbon-neutral, invested in renewable energy projects, lowered the carbon footprint of our investment portfolios, and given our members and clients the opportunity to do the same. We’ll continue to work with Hydro-Québec to develop innovative and energy-efficient transportation solutions,” she added. Desjardins Group claims to be the fifth largest cooperative financial group in the world and Mediacorp rated it one of Canada’s Top 100 employers. Since its inauguration in 2012, some 340 private and institutional partners have joined the Electric Circuit, which now counts over 55 000 members.
In July this year, the Canadian government awarded $4.6-million to Suncor’s Petro-Canada subsidiary for building 92 electric vehicle fast-chargers. Almost exactly a year ago, Hydro-Quebec ordered 50 kW fast-charging stations from AddEnergie – presumably to begin the string of 50 kW chargers – of which the Montréal superstation is the first to enter operation. AddEnergie has been providing Electric Circuit with charging stations since 2013.
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