Subsidies for aluminum producers: Benefits that don’t add up

On December 14, 2006, the Quebec government and Alcan unveiled an agreement for building an aluminum smelter in the Saguenay–Lac-Saint- Jean region. The smelter is to have an annual production capacity of 450,000 tonnes and to use the new AP50 electrolysis technology under development, intended to cut electricity use by about 20% per tonne of aluminum produced. The purpose of this Economic Note is to measure the cost to Quebec society of the government contribution to this project and to see if it is justified in relation to the expected benefits.

Links of interest

Appendix (December 14, 2006): Méthode de calcul des coûts de l’entente entre Alcan et le gouvernement du Québec

Media Release: $300,000 per job each year for 35 years – Subsidies for aluminum producers: benefits that don’t add up