Alcoa, Hydro Quebec sign power agreements

Alcoa on December 19 announced that it has finalized new power agreements in Quebec through 2040. The agreements will supply clean, renewable energy to all three of the company’s aluminum smelters in the province – Baie Comeau, Becancour (ABI), and Deschambault -- and enable Alcoa to upgrade and expand Baie Comeau production. The agreements cover approximately 1.1 million metric tons per year (mtpy), or more than 25 percent of the company’s production.

Alcoa finalized with Hydro Quebec the renewal of existing power agreements in Quebec as well as the signing of new agreements for additional power. This is in line with a memorandum of understanding (MOU) reached on March 4, 2008 with the government of Québec on a new, renewable energy contract to supply all three of the Company’s aluminum smelters in Québec with a combined 2100 megawatts of hydropower through December 31, 2040.

These agreements are enabling Alcoa to pursue its plans to upgrade Baie Comeau production, with initial engineering studies having already started. It is expected that conversion and upgrade of the smelting technologies at the plant to a more environmentally friendly one, as well as the expansion of output at Baie Comeau by 110,000 mtpy, will be completed by 2014, with the vast majority of investments coming toward the end of the project. The upgrade will eliminate PAHs emissions from the Soderberg pots and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions at the plant by 40 percent.