In an announcement of a data centre summit for the Greater Montréal area January 24, Hydro-Quebec pointed up its plans to provide the growing service area with the burgeoning amounts of electric power they require. “There’s real enthusiasm for Québec as a data-hosting location and holding this major event here is proof of that. Our clean energy, our highly competitive rates and our climate make Québec a great place to set up data centres,” said David Murray, President of Hydro-Québec Distribution.
The organizer of the summit, CapRate Events, points out that Microsoft and Amazon Web Services have both announced plans to develop data centres in the province, in Quebec City and Montreal respectively. The AWS Montreal location becomes the fifth North American location and the first that is outside the U.S. In November, Google also announced plans to form an AI research group in Montreal.
Hydro-Québec’s Strategic Plan 2016–2020 announced that the company would be launching a campaign to attract data centres to Québec by offering investors a number of advantages:
• Extremely competitive rates, including the Economic Development Rate (TDE)
• A portfolio of appropriate sites, representing over 25 million square feet and located in strategic areas
• Support to get projects up and running quickly
• Energy efficiency expertise to help reduce energy consumption.
“The global data centre market is rapidly growing and we have what it takes to be at the forefront of this trend. We have clean, available energy, very competitive rates and a climate that enables reduced energy consumption,” noted Éric Martel, President and CEO of Hydro-Québec, in a June 2016 news release.
Cloud-based data providers are creating “vast opportunities” for cloud growth in Montreal, real estate services firm Jones Lang Lasalle (JLL) said in its 2016 data-centre outlook. Interestingly, JLL in its 2016 report also refers to "the continuing rise of data center microgrids ... becoming more sophisticated every year."