More Than $1 Billion Invest in Renewable Energy and Clean Technologies

More than $1 billion has been invested to support renewable energy, thanks to financing from Desjardins Group's Capital Markets Division and equity investments from the Desjardins Group with the contribution of two Desjardins insurance subsidiaries. Of this amount, nearly $550 million was invested in 31 wind farms, some $300 million in 14 solar energy projects and $155 million in 9 hydroelectric projects and a biomass power plant.

Together, these facilities can generate nearly 2,700 MW of energy. That's enough power to run 852,000 electric furnaces! This is the equivalent of the third largest Hydro-Québec generating station in the Nord-du-Québec region, after the Robert-Bourassa generating station (5,616 MW) and the La Grande-4 generating station (2,779 MW). It produces enough power to sustain all of the households in Montreal, 3.7 times the power needed for Quebec City and 1.5 times the amount needed for Ottawa-Gatineau.

"With a portfolio of $750 million in renewable and clean energy investments, the Desjardins Group Pension Plan was a pioneer in the wind, solar and hydroelectricity sectors," said Sylvain Gareau, Vice-President, Desjardins Group Pension Plan. "The assets make up half of our infrastructure portfolio. On Earth Day, we would like to recognize the Canadian investors who are building the economy of the 21st century."

According to Jean-Yves Bourgeois, Vice-President, Capital Markets at Desjardins, wind and solar energy are the fastest growing sources of energy across the globe, "Canada is rich in renewable energy sources and we can see this in our infrastructure financing portfolio. These energy sectors create high-value-added jobs and are drivers of growth for Desjardins. We're proud to finance this growing strategic sector and to contribute to the development of clean and renewable sources of energy for Canadians."