What’s new?

Québec’s one-of-a-kind Le Chevalier building is a multifunctional building with 21 affordable apartments that is equipped with a wide range of innovative energy technologies. The tenants in this innovative living environment all share the common goal of using electricity wisely.

The Le Chevalier building is a living lab. The residents share energy resources by optimizing energy use and relying on various types of technology. Their experiences will be included in studies on household energy use.

Hybrid solar panels on the roof

• Preheating domestic hot water
• Generating electricity to supply the building

Wall-mounted thermal storage heaters

• Shifting electricity use to outside peak periods

Heat pumps

• Heating in the winter with the possibility of energy savings thanks to this high-efficiency device
• Air-conditioning in the summer

Electricity management system

• Effective energy management in the building
• Coordination with the microgrid’s other energy installations

The Lac-Mégantic heritage railway station has reopened its doors and is proposing more services for tourists, including a tourist information office and various permanent exhibitions, including a new exhibition on energy and the energy transition.

The outdoor guided discovery tours of the microgrid continued throughout the summer, which allowed the public to discover Québec’s first-ever electric microgrid. Tours depart from the railway station. Departure times may vary. Duration: about 50 minutes. Free admission. No reservations required.

The first edition of Energy Transition Week, an event designed to bring people together, was successful in raising awareness and mobilizing more than 2,250 people around this important issue.

A variety of themed activities were held throughout the week:

Monday, April 29: A day for the business community

Lunchtime presentation with Pierre Fitzgibbon, then‑Minister of Economy, Innovation and Energy and Minister Responsible for Regional Economic Development. Julie Morin, Mayor of Lac‑Mégantic, also took the opportunity to kick off Lac‑Mégantic’s energy transition project, Mission mégawattand a Hydro‑Québec representative presented offers and programs designed for business customers.

Tuesday, April 30: School day

A creative workshop on the theme of renewable energy was held in Lac‑Mégantic elementary and secondary schools.

Wednesday, May 1: A day for tourists

The focus was on the guided discovery tour of the microgrid, a tourist attraction and a unique technology showcase in Lac‑Mégantic.

Thursday, May 2: Municipality day

Various workshops and conferences took place, including a joint presentation by Hydro‑Québec and the town of Lac-Mégantic entitled Un laboratoire vivant au service de la transition énergétique (A living lab driving the energy transition).

Saturday, May 4, and Sunday, May 5: Exhibition for the general public – Energy and the Environment

The Centre sportif Mégantic presented activities for the whole family—stands, quizzes, educational activities, an electric vehicle show and test drives.

Located within the perimeter of the microgrid, the multifunctional Le Chevalier building will include 21 affordable apartments and will be equipped with a wide range of innovative energy technologies that will benefit the tenants.

Built to meet an urgent need for affordable apartments, the building is made up of factory-built modular units that are then transported for on-site assembly. There are many advantages to this approach, including a shorter construction time and less waste on the jobsite. Construction will continue until spring 2024.

A call for expressions of interest for people interested in living in the units and participating in the energy transition will take place in early 2024. Tenants will move into the units in summer 2024.

Departures from the heritage railway station, from Tuesday to Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tour the outdoor interpretation center with our guides. (Exact departure times may vary.) Duration: about 50 minutes. Tours are free. No reservations required.

Our free guided tours continue this fall! Departures from the heritage railway station will continue on Saturdays and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. until October 9; exact times may vary. Duration: about one hour. (Tours are in French.) Learn more

Free guided tours all summer long! Departures from the heritage railway station, from Tuesday to Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; exact times may vary. Duration: about an hour. (Tours are in French.) Learn more

The fire department will be connected to the Lac-Mégantic microgrid and feature the most advanced energy technologies:

• Two-sided solar panels to generate electricity
• Energy storage batteries
• Energy management and control system

Thanks to its energy-efficient thermal envelope and technologies that reduce energy use, the fire station will also be a model of energy efficiency

Discover the architectural pavilion in downtown Lac‑Mégantic, at the very heart of the microgrid discovery tour. Take a look at the dashboard to follow the real‑time energy consumption and production of local buildings and the 72 solar panels on the roof of the pavilion that power the nearby heritage railway station and electric vehicle charging stations. The pavilion is a public gathering place that will host community activities.

On Saturday, December 4, kindergarten students at École Notre‑Dame‑de‑Fatima presented a Christmas concert to mark the pavilion’s inauguration and the start of the holiday season.

Check out the Lac‑Mégantic microgrid discovery tour between the train station and the substation located near the town’s sports center. The tour will give you an idea of what the future has in store energy‑wise! Identify the buildings housing various technologies and learn more about how the microgrid works. Visit the exhibition in the heritage railway station—open throughout the summer—and learn, among other things, how electricity came to Lac‑Mégantic, at the instigation of Father Joseph‑Eugène‑Edmond Choquette, nicknamed the “Electric Priest.”

Thank you to the contributors and to all the citizens of Lac-Mégantic who attended the official inauguration of the town’s microgrid, a groundbreaking project for an innovative, forward-looking community!

When planning the reconstruction of its downtown core following the rail disaster of July 2013, Lac-Mégantic set itself the challenge of becoming a hub of technological innovation. At the same time, Hydro-Québec was embarking on a major energy transition. The convergence of these two visions resulted in the microgrid, designed collaboratively over the months that ensued.

Hydro-Québec representatives were on hand to chat with local residents and visitors about the microgrid.

As part of the Lac-Mégantic microgrid project, work is underway to apply energy efficiency measures in buildings on Promenade Papineau.

Upgrades and improvements to mechanical HVAC systems will improve the working environment and overall comfort inside the buildings, while targeted energy management adapted to actual usage will result in energy savings.

Last conference of the season on another important aspect of the energy transition: energy efficiency in terms of optimizing energy use in residential buildings.

Second conference in the Bâtisseurs de solutions énergétiques (Building Energy Solutions) series, presented in Lac-Mégantic.

First in a series of conferences entitled Bâtisseurs de solutions énergétiques (Building Energy Solutions), presented as part of the microgrid project for Lac-Mégantic residents. The conferences are held at the Centre sportif Mégantic.

Inauguration of the microgrid center in Lac-Mégantic, an interpretation center open to the public that showcases the microgrid construction project in the new downtown area of Lac-Mégantic.

Presentation of a microgrid project at the annual meeting of the Association de l’industrie électrique du Québec (AIEQ) in Montréal.