The Madawaska wind farm, years in the making and debated in town halls and environmental hearings, has now cleared its last big hurdle. With official approval from the Quebec government, EDF and its partners can move from maps and models to cranes and concrete.
Quebec’s green light turns plans into turbines
On 22 December 2025, the government of Quebec formally authorised the Madawaska wind farm. On paper, it is an administrative step. On the ground, it is the moment the project stops being theoretical.
The 274 MW wind farm will straddle the municipalities of Dégelis and Saint‑Jean‑de‑la‑Lande, in the Témiscouata regional county municipality, close to the border with New Brunswick. Forty‑five turbines are planned, clustered on ridgelines and cleared areas where the wind resource is strongest.
Madawaska will plug directly into Hydro‑Québec’s grid, adding enough zero‑carbon power to supply hundreds of thousands of homes across the province.
Behind that single signature lies years of work: wind‑measurement campaigns in bitter winter conditions, thick bundles of environmental impact studies, and public meetings that at times grew tense. Concerns about views, noise and wildlife competed with arguments about jobs, tax revenues and climate targets.
That lengthy front‑end phase is now over. Construction is scheduled to run from early 2026 through 2027, with first electrons expected on the grid at the end of 2026.
How the money flows to small communities
From megawatts to municipal budgets
Madawaska fits directly into Quebec’s “Action Plan 2035 – Towards a decarbonised and prosperous Quebec”, which leans heavily on new wind projects to support electrification of transport, buildings and industry.
The way the project is structured, local communities are not just hosts; they are financial beneficiaries. Municipalities will receive around €5,700 per installed megawatt each year, indexed to inflation. Over 30 years, that adds up fast.
- Total payments over 30 years: more than €46 million
- Share earmarked for Dégelis and Saint‑Jean‑de‑la‑Lande: over €25 million
- Additional redistributions via regional partners: about €181 million
The €181 million figure refers to the revenue that the Alliance de l’énergie de l’Est, which holds 33% of the project, plans to distribute over three decades to its 16 member regional county municipalities and the Wolastoqiyik Wahsipekuk First Nation.
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For sparsely populated rural areas, the project means a steady, predictable revenue stream that sits alongside property taxes, not in place of them.
That money can fund road repairs, water infrastructure, sports facilities, cultural projects or local climate initiatives. Crucially, it gives municipalities more breathing space in their budgets at a time when climate‑driven weather damage and demographic change are both pushing up costs.
Building Madawaska: 300 jobs and a tight timetable
From January 2026 to commissioning
Construction is due to start in January 2026, which in this part of Quebec means working through sub‑zero temperatures and heavy snow. Roads must be reinforced or built from scratch to handle turbine components, some of them tens of metres long.
During peak activity between 2026 and 2027, around 300 jobs will be created or sustained:
- Heavy‑equipment operators for foundations and roads
- Crane operators and riggers for turbine erection
- Electrical technicians to handle cabling and grid connection
- Civil and electrical engineers overseeing quality and safety
- Local suppliers providing aggregates, fuel, catering and lodging
Once the farm is up and running, the number of permanent roles drops sharply, as with most wind projects. A team of around ten people will handle operations and maintenance: monitoring performance, carrying out regular inspections, and responding to faults in all seasons.
The developers expect the first turbines to start sending power into Hydro‑Québec’s network by the end of 2026, with full commercial operation during 2027.
EDF’s broader Canadian bet on renewables
A growing portfolio from Quebec to Newfoundland
Madawaska is only one piece of a much larger strategy. Through EDF Renewables North America, operating in the country as EDF power solutions Canada, the group has become a major player in Canadian clean energy.
At the start of 2026, EDF’s Canadian portfolio included about 1.9 GW of wind and solar either operating or under construction, with another 4.2 GW in development. Quebec and Ontario dominate that mix, thanks to clear tender processes and long‑term power purchase agreements.
| Project | Type | Capacity (MW) | Location | Status (early 2026) | Main partners |
| Madawaska | Wind | 274 | Témiscouata, Quebec | Construction from Jan 2026 | EDF, Hydro‑Québec, Alliance de l’énergie de l’Est |
| Haute‑Chaudière | Wind | 124 | MRC du Granit, Quebec | Under construction | EDF, Énergie renouvelable Granit |
| Bas‑Saint‑Laurent cluster | Wind | 570 (total) | Bas‑Saint‑Laurent, Quebec | Development | EDF Renewables North America, Hydro‑Québec |
| Elmsley / St. Isidore | Solar | 36 | Ontario | Operating | EDF EN Canada, Hydro One |
| EVREC | Wind / green hydrogen | 3,000 | Newfoundland and Labrador | Development, final investment decision targeted 2026 | EDF, Abraxas Power |
From onshore wind in Quebec to a 3 GW wind‑to‑hydrogen project in Newfoundland, EDF is betting that Canada’s clean‑power push has decades to run.
For a French group still known internationally for nuclear power, Canada has become a testing ground for large‑scale renewables and green hydrogen. The federal government’s climate policies, combined with strong provincial incentives, create a relatively stable environment for capital‑heavy projects.
Why Canada, and especially Quebec, suit EDF
A grid already leaning clean
Canada generates roughly 633,000 GWh of electricity each year from all sources. Around 79% of that power comes from non‑emitting technologies, according to International Energy Agency data.
Hydropower dominates, providing about 55.4% of national electricity output. Nuclear supplies close to 13.9%, concentrated largely in Ontario. Fossil fuels – mainly natural gas, with some coal and oil – account for just over one‑fifth of the mix, still influential in western provinces.
Wind has climbed past 7.5% of the total, almost all of it from large onshore farms. Solar sits near 1%, while biomass and other sources make up a thin slice.
Quebec, though, is a different story again. More than 94% of its power comes from hydroelectric dams, with wind in the region of 6%. Fossil‑fuel plants are practically absent, limited to a few backup sites. That leaves Quebec with an exceptionally low carbon intensity: roughly 1–2 grams of CO₂ per kWh, compared with several hundred grams in many industrialised countries.
This ultra‑clean base makes additional wind farms like Madawaska powerful tools. They can serve new electric‑vehicle charging, heat pumps and industrial electrification, without triggering a surge in emissions.
What Madawaska means for energy transition on the ground
Local benefits and recurring questions
Projects of this scale always raise familiar questions. Residents worry about impacts on landscapes, bird populations, sound levels and property values. Supporters point to climate targets, job creation and municipal revenues.
On noise, modern turbines are typically designed to keep sound at nearby homes within regulated limits, though the “whoosh” is still noticeable on quiet nights. Blade‑tip height, lighting requirements for aviation and the layout of turbines all influence how visible the farm will be from villages and lakes.
Bird and bat impacts are managed via siting rules, shutdown procedures during sensitive migration periods, and technical tweaks such as blade‑painting trials. These measures do not remove risk, but they can reduce it significantly compared with early‑generation wind farms.
The trade‑off is stark: a handful of tall turbines and construction traffic now, in exchange for decades of low‑carbon power and fresh income for small towns.
A quick guide to key terms
For non‑specialists, a few concepts help make sense of the figures:
- Megawatt (MW): a unit of power capacity. Madawaska’s 274 MW indicates how much it can generate at a given instant under strong wind.
- Capacity factor: the share of time a plant operates near its maximum output. Wind farms often sit around 30–45% depending on conditions.
- Green hydrogen: hydrogen produced using renewable electricity. Projects like EVREC plan to use huge wind capacities to run electrolyser units near ports.
- Regional county municipality (MRC): a Quebec administrative unit grouping several municipalities, which often co‑invest in energy projects to share risks and benefits.
Applied to Madawaska, a 274 MW capacity and a realistic capacity factor in the 35–40% range would mean annual generation on the order of 840–960 GWh. That is enough to match the annual electricity use of several hundred thousand typical Canadian households, depending on consumption assumptions.
For investors, a project like this sits at the intersection of stable, long‑term returns and policy risk. Revenues often depend on fixed‑price contracts with utilities such as Hydro‑Québec, indexed to inflation. Political shifts, supply‑chain bottlenecks and community opposition can still affect timelines and costs, but once connected, wind farms tend to run for 25–30 years with comparatively modest operating expenses.
