The James Bay Project () involves the construction of a series of hydroelectric power stations on the La Grande River in northwestern Quebec, Canada by state-owned utility Hydro-Québec, and the diversion of neighbouring rivers into the La Grande watershed. It is located between James Bay to the west and Labrador to the east, and its waters flow from the Laurentian Plateau of the Canadian Shield. The project is one of the largest hydroelectric systems in the world. It has cost upwards of US$20 billion to build and has an installed generating capacity of 15.244 GW, at the cost of 7,000 square miles of Cree hunting lands. It has been built since 1974 by James Bay Energy () for Hydro-Québec.
Construction costs of the project's first phase in ≈ 1971 amounted to $13.7 billion (1987 Canadian dollars). The eight power stations of the La Grande Complex generate an average of 9.5 GW, enough to meet the total demand of a small industrialized economy such as Belgium. The James Bay power stations represent almost half of Hydro-Québec's total output and capacity.
The development of the James Bay Project was controversial. It led to an acrimonious conflict with the 5,000 Crees and 4,000 Inuit of Northern Quebec over land rights, lifestyle and environmental issues. A ruling against the Quebec government in 1973 forced the Robert Bourassa government to negotiate a far-reaching agreement, the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement, involving the Cree, the Inuit, the Quebec and Canadian governments, Hydro-Québec, the SEBJ, and later the Naskapi First Nations. In the 1990s, forceful opposition by the Crees and their environmental allies caused the cancellation of the Great Whale Project, a proposed 3,000 MW complex north of La Grande River.
In February 2002, the Bernard Landry government and the Grand Council of the Crees signed the Peace of the Braves () and the Boumhounan Agreement, establishing a new relationship between Quebec and the Crees and agreeing on environmental rules for the construction of three new power stations built between 2003 and 2011 — the Eastmain-1, Eastmain-1-A and Sarcelle generating stations — and the diversion of the Rupert River.
Geography
The James Bay region, also known as Jamésie, is a territory, bordered by the 49th and 55th parallels, James Bay on the western side and by the drainage divide with the Saint Lawrence River basin on the eastern side. The topography of the area consist of generally low relief areas and includes three parts: a coastal plain, a rolling plateau with a maximum elevation of and the Otish Mountains to the east of the territory, with peaks reaching .
The area is part of the Canadian Shield and is largely made up of Precambrian igneous and metamorphic rocks. Relief has been eroded by successive glaciations in the Pleistocene era, as recently as 6,000 years ago, leaving depositions of loose materials: moraines, clay, silt and sand and reshaped the hydrography of the territory.
The region's climate is subarctic. Winters are long and last, on average, from October 22 to May 4. Summers are short and mild, with temperatures averaging in July, while dropping to in January. Annual precipitation averages , a third in snow. Highest monthly rainfall is registered in the summer and snow depths vary from in the winter. Precipitations are significantly lower than the annual average of recorded in Montreal. The area lies in the zone of discontinuous permafrost, whose depth is significantly reduced by the deep snow cover.
The natural seismicity of the area is low. An earthquake of magnitude 5 on the Richter magnitude scale occurred in 1941, its epicenter located approximately 150 km from the La Grande-3 generating station. However, episodes of induced seismicity occurred during the initial fill of reservoirs. In 1983, a magnitude 4 tremor was recorded upstream of LG-3's main dam.
History
Exploration
Between 1950 and 1959, a team led by H. M. Finlayson conducted water surveys of the Nottaway, Broadback and Rupert Rivers—collectively known by the abbreviation NBR—on behalf of the Shawinigan Water & Power Company, a large investor-owned utility based in Shawinigan, Quebec. Among options studied by Shawinigan's engineers was the possible diversion of these rivers to the Saint-Maurice River watershed in order to increase output at the company's 8 power stations.
With the nationalization of privately owned utilities in 1963, Hydro-Québec inherited the preliminary studies conducted by Finlayson and his team on the hydroelectric potential of James Bay rivers. However, other projects, such as the Manicouagan-Outardes project on the North Shore and the possibility of building a large power station at Churchill Falls in Labrador proved easier and less expensive and the Crown corporation devoted only minimal resources to the vast potential of northern rivers. In 1965, Hydro-Québec survey program included exploration of the territory and hydrographic surveys of areas between the 52nd and 55th parallel.
In 1967, the company stepped up the work on the La Grande and Eastmain rivers. Dozens, then hundreds of people were sent by helicopter and seaplanes in inaccessible areas of the taiga to perform surveys and geological studies to identify potential sites for hydropower development. Faced with budget concerns, Hydro-Québec did cut back exploration budgets between 1968 and 1970, but the company maintained planning and analysis work, since early data showed a large potential for development.
Early steps On December 16, 1969, Liberal Backbencher Member of the National Assembly Robert Bourassa met with the president of Hydro-Québec, Roland Giroux over lunch at the parliamentary dining room in Quebec City. After the meeting Bourassa, who was about to launch a leadership bid for the position left vacant by the resignation of former Premier Jean Lesage, became convinced of the probability and suitability of the project and made the development of James Bay hydroelectricity a major plank of its leadership campaign. Elected as the party leader in January, Bourassa went on to win the general election on April 29, 1970, and his tenure as Premier of Quebec became closely linked to hydroelectric development in general and with the James Bay project in particular.
For Bourassa the development of James Bay project addressed two of his priorities. In Energy in the North, an essay published in 1985, Bourassa, an economist by profession, argued that "Quebec's economic development relies on the development of its natural resources". Moreover, Bourassa argued his 1969 estimates showed demand for electricity would outstrip supply by 11,000 MW by 1983, concurring with forecasts made at the time by Hydro-Quebec.
Six months after his election, Bourassa began working on the details of the scheme with his adviser, financier Paul Desrochers. The two men met secretly with Roland Giroux and Robert A. Boyd for an update in September 1970 and the next month he travelled to New York City in the midst of the October Crisis to negotiate financing for the project, estimated at the time to cost between $5 billion and $6 billion.
Bourassa introduced his plan to the provincial cabinet in March 1971 and recommended hiring the US engineering firm Bechtel to oversee the construction. Liberal strategists then chose to make the announcement before a partisan crowd assembled at Quebec's Little Coliseum as part of the Liberal party gathering celebrating the first year of Bourassa's term, on April 30, 1971. According to journalists witnessing the scene, Bourassa's speech concluded on a scene of indescribable enthusiasm.
Nuclear lobby The announcement quickly generated a public debate on the wisdom to engage the province on such a large-scale project. For several years, a lobby spearheaded by the Canadian government and its nuclear venture, Atomic Energy of Canada Limited, promoted the adoption of nuclear energy in Quebec, as a way to "share the benefits of Canada with our fellow francophone citizens", as Canadian Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson said. The lobby had its supporters within the ranks at Hydro-Québec, and has been vocal when the provincial government made the decision to invest in the Churchill Falls venture with Brinco. Several Parti Québécois spokesmen, including energy critic Guy Joron and economic adviser Jacques Parizeau voiced their opposition to the Bourassa scheme. In an interview with Montreal's Le Devoir, the former economist and public servant who later became premier of Quebec commented: "We don't have to dam every single river just because they're French Canadian and Catholic."
However, Bourassa himself and Hydro-Québec senior management — including President Roland Giroux and commissioners Yvon DeGuise and Robert Boyd — were firmly behind the large hydroelectric development to be built in northern Quebec. At the time Giroux, a financier, argued that large international investors "are still wary about nuclear energy. If we bring them a good hydroelectric project, and James Bay is a good one, they'll soon show where their preferences lie". As an engineer, Boyd expressed concerns at this early date about the uncertainty of nuclear energy. He recommended maintaining a certain expertise in the field but advocated delaying nuclear expansion as late as possible.
The Quebec premier received an unexpected backing when the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR, Alexei Kosygin visited Montreal in October 1971. Kosygin supported Bourassa's project and expressed concerns regarding his country's own nuclear power, explaining his country had to develop the technology because the USSR lacked suitable rivers to expand its own hydroelectric network of dams and power stations.
Options Two options were considered when Bourassa unveiled his plan for the construction of several large hydroelectric power stations on the rivers flowing into James Bay, either on the Nottaway, Broadback, Rupert and Harricana Rivers in the south (NBR Project), or on the La Grande and Eastmain Rivers to the north. The northerly rivers were selected in May 1972, various studies conducted by engineering firms having concluded the La Grande option would be more cost effective, while having a lesser impact on forestry and would require less flooding, thus minimizing impacts on First Nations fishing and hunting. Another area of concern was the silty nature of the terrain in the NBR area, which would have complicated the damming.
The project, as described at the time, would involve the construction of four generating stations on the La Grande River and the diversion of the Eastmain and Caniapiscau rivers into the La Grande watershed. Responsibility for the project would be overseen by the Société d'énergie de la Baie-James, a newly created mixed corporation (public/private) controlled by Hydro-Québec, headed by Robert A. Boyd.
As environmental assessments were not then required under Quebec law, construction of the James Bay Road to the La Grande River was begun in 1971 and completed by October 1974 at a cost of about $400 million. In 1973 and 1974, a temporary winter ice road was used to bring in the heavy equipment required for the construction of the roadbed and some 13 major bridges spanning the many rivers of the region.