Abstract
The wind energy branch of power production in Quebec was truly created at the end of the 1990’s, with the commissioning of the Le Nordais wind farm in the Gaspésie region of Quebec. Throughout various tenders issued by Hydro-Québec, the Crown corporation responsible for the supply of energy, wind generation has increased gradually to reach an installed capacity of nearly 2,900 MW. In Quebec, industrial projects (including wind farms) must be the subject of impact assessments and public hearings, according to certain parameters. Although this is a green form of energy production, wind farm projects have met with opposition on the basis of noise, which has led to the abandonment of some projects. The noise and vibration personnel at SNC-Lavalin Inc. have been involved in the Quebec’s wind energy branch since its beginnings and have developed a unique expertise in Quebec in terms of their ability to characterize a wind farm’s initial situation, perform noise modeling, popularize technical aspects of the project at public hearings, to monitor during construction, and finally to monitor during the operational phase.