Another aspect of the proposed Samonix land-based salmon farm is the amount of electricity required to operate the facility.
According to project documents, the proposed aquaculture complex would require a 12-megawatt (MW) electrical connection from Hydro-Québec. The company has indicated that electricity would power nearly every major component of the operation, including water circulation systems, pumps, filtration equipment, oxygenation systems, refrigeration units, processing equipment, environmental controls, lighting, laboratory operations, and other support infrastructure.
Unlike many industrial operations that can temporarily reduce production during downtime, a large land-based salmon farm must operate continuously. Water must be constantly circulated through the recirculating aquaculture system (RAS), oxygen levels must be maintained, temperatures carefully controlled, and filtration systems kept running twenty-four hours a day to ensure fish survival and water quality.
To understand the scale of the project's electricity demand, it helps to convert the proposed 12 MW load into annual energy consumption. If operating continuously throughout the year, a 12 MW facility would consume approximately 105.12 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity annually.
Based on estimates from the Hydro-Québec website, an electrically heated detached home with air conditioning and a pool may consume approximately 29,000 kWh per year, while a multi-unit dwelling without air conditioning may consume closer to 13,000 kWh annually.
Using the facility's estimated annual consumption of 105.12 million kWh, the project would consume electricity equivalent to approximately:
13,000 kWh/year → ~8,090 homes
15,000 kWh/year → ~7,010 homes
18,000 kWh/year → ~5,840 homes
20,000 kWh/year → ~5,260 homes
25,000 kWh/year → ~4,210 homes
29,000 kWh/year → ~3,625 homes
While electricity consumption and electrical capacity are not exactly the same thing, the comparison helps illustrate the scale of the proposed operation. Operating continuously throughout the year, the facility's electricity demand would be substantial by local standards. Depending on the household consumption benchmark used, its annual electricity consumption would be equivalent to that of approximately 3,625 to 8,090 homes. Considering that the MRC Pontiac contains 6.665 occupied private dwellings according to the 2021 Census data, that’s roughly 54% to 121% of the electricity used by all occupied dwellings in the MRC Pontiac combined.
The power requirement is large enough that it falls under Quebec's provincial review process for major electricity allocations. Since 2023, projects requiring more than 5 MW of electrical capacity must receive authorization from the Quebec government before being connected to Hydro-Québec's network.
Samonix reportedly submitted its application for a 12 MW allocation to Hydro-Québec and the provincial government, and the project later received support from the MRC Pontiac as part of that process.
Supporters of the project argue that Quebec offers one of the most attractive locations in the world for land-based aquaculture because of its relatively low-cost hydroelectric power and low-carbon electricity supply. Hydro-Québec produces the vast majority of its electricity from renewable hydroelectric generation, giving energy-intensive industries access to electricity with significantly lower greenhouse gas emissions than many competing jurisdictions.
In addition to its Hydro-Québec connection, Samonix has proposed installing approximately 7.5 MW of rooftop solar panels and five 1,600-kilowatt backup generators.
The solar installation could help offset a portion of the facility's electricity consumption during daylight hours. However, solar generation varies according to weather conditions, season, and time of day, while the fish farm's electricity requirements would remain constant. During winter, at night, and during periods of low sunlight, the facility would continue to rely primarily on Hydro-Québec's electrical grid.
The proposed backup power system highlights another important aspect of land-based aquaculture: fish farms cannot simply shut down when the power goes out. Water circulation, oxygenation, temperature control, filtration systems, monitoring equipment, and other life-support systems must continue operating around the clock to maintain water quality and fish health.
Project documents indicate that Samonix plans to install approximately 8 MW of backup generating capacity through five 1,600-kilowatt generators. While this is less than the facility's proposed 12 MW grid connection, emergency systems are generally designed to power critical infrastructure rather than maintain full production capacity. The proposed backup capacity nevertheless provides some indication of the scale of electricity required to sustain essential operations during an outage.
If all five generators operated continuously, their combined 8 MW output would represent approximately 70.08 million kWh of electricity annually. In practical terms, that amount of power alone would still be comparable to the annual electricity consumption of thousands of homes.
In large recirculating aquaculture facilities, even relatively short power interruptions can create operational challenges if backup systems fail. Without circulation and oxygenation, water quality can deteriorate rapidly, fish can become stressed, and losses can occur. In severe cases, prolonged outages combined with equipment failures have resulted in significant fish mortality at aquaculture facilities in various jurisdictions.
The project also proposes multiple layers of redundancy, including backup oxygen systems, liquid oxygen reserves, alarms, sensors, automated monitoring equipment, emergency generators, and contingency procedures designed to protect fish stocks during equipment failures or interruptions to the electrical supply.
The project's electricity demand has also prompted broader questions regarding the capacity and reliability of the region's existing electrical infrastructure.
Parts of the Pontiac have experienced repeated power outages in recent years due to storms, falling trees, equipment failures, and aging infrastructure. The facility's reliance on continuous electrical power has understandably led to questions about how critical operations would be maintained during extended outages affecting the region. For some residents, the prospect of adding such a demanding electricity consumer raises questions about whether local infrastructure can support both existing demand and future industrial growth.
Hydro-Québec has been planning transmission and substation upgrades within the Pontiac region aimed at improving reliability and increasing capacity for residential and commercial users. In principle, stronger transmission infrastructure can also help accommodate future industrial projects. However, a project of this size would still require detailed engineering studies to determine whether additional equipment, dedicated connections, or network upgrades would be necessary. Such evaluations typically examine peak demand, system reliability, voltage stability, and long-term capacity requirements.
Energy availability has become an increasingly important topic across Quebec as demand for electricity continues to grow due to the electrification of industries, transportation shifts toward electric vehicles, and new industrial projects seeking large power allocations. Recent government policies have placed greater scrutiny on projects requesting major electricity blocks because of increasing competition for future generating capacity.
For supporters, the project's large electricity requirement is viewed as a sign of significant industrial investment and economic development. They argue that access to Quebec's hydroelectric system provides a competitive advantage that could help establish new forms of food production in regions such as the Pontiac.
Critics, however, question whether long-term energy availability, infrastructure costs, future electricity rates, or regional grid reliability could eventually affect the project's viability or place additional pressure on public infrastructure.
As the environmental review process continues, the question is not simply how much electricity the proposed salmon farm would use, but whether the region's infrastructure can reliably support a large energy-intensive industry alongside the needs of existing residents, businesses, and future development.