"Green Energy" designates electricity produced from renewable sources of energy, such as wind, photovoltaic technologies (solar batteries), biomass combustion (wood residues) and small hydroelectric power stations, which have limited impact on the environment.

At Boralex, green energy is characterized by three major types of production:

• Hydroelectricity produced solely through the operation of small power stations (renewable energy);
• Wind energy (renewable energy);
• Wood-residue energy

At Boralex, hydroelectricity is comprised of eight small power stations located in Québec, the United States and France, having a combined installed capacity of 26.2 MW.

These power stations constitute a clean and renewable source of energy which, contrary to large-scale hydroelectric developments, have minimal environmental impact, such as the diversion of waterways, relocation of infrastructures and installation of long-distance energy-transmission lines.

As Boralex's small power stations are generally run-or-water stations, they have very little impact on the hydrological regimen of the waterways involved and can, on the contrary, have a regulating and stabilizing effect by maintaining the water level and protecting riverbanks from erosion.

Their location near the places where the energy is consumed makes it possible to reduce energy loss incurred during transportation.

With regard to site development, Boralex pays special attention to the respect and the restoration of the sites it builds or acquires in order to develop all of their potentials for the benefit of the local populations.

As Boralex contributes to the recreational and touristic or heritage development of the sites by keeping bodies of water in the heart of inhabited areas, its hydroelectric power stations constitute a factor in the economic development of the region.

Wind energy is renewal energy whose operation does not generate any discharges. The hallmark of Boralex's wind farm, located in Avignonet-Lauragais, is its distance from residential areas. Noise pollution is therefore practically non-existent

Wood-residue energy is green energy since, at Boralex alone, it involves the processing of more than 2.5 million tons of wood residues (including construction and demolition wood) that otherwise would be burned or go to landfill sites.

Burying wood is not only costly, but it is also harmful from several points of view: in addition to the fact that it takes up the space required for waste that is not recyclable, it also generates leachate during decomposition of the material, thus contaminating the soil.

Boralex's wood-residue power stations are all equipped with a recuperating membrane and a leachate collector for the storage areas so that it will be treated and will not return to the soil.

For wood-residues alone, Boralex has developed a specific expertise, not only in terms of energy production with the operation of eight wood-residue thermal or cogeneration power stations, but also on the collection, sorting and processing of urban wood, thanks to Secure.

The operation of its thermal or cogeneration power stations allows the Corporation to efficiently control its atmospheric emissions, to treat its process and recycling water, to manage the storage and handling of its residues and to reuse the ash. All of these actions thave direct positive impact on the environment.