If EverWind Fuels has its way, more than 400 new wind turbines will be popping up on horizon lines throughout the province, as the company joins others touting their plans to become “first” to produce green hydrogen.
The company has been inching its way through government approvals. Last month, it held 10 open houses in Nova Scotia’s Guysborough County to seek community input on the roughly 400 turbines it intends to build there.
On June 5, it submitted a proposal to erect 49 turbines in Colchester County for environmental assessment by the province.
Wind for green hydrogen production
Green hydrogen is produced using renewable resources, such as wind energy.
When used as a fuel, its only byproduct is water, making it a source of clean energy.
Elemental hydrogen can only be produced from and stored with other elements, such as oxygen or nitrogen.
Wind-to-hydrogen projects use turbines to power electrolysis, the process used to split hydrogen atoms out of water.
In EverWind’s case, the hydrogen would then be combined with nitrogen to facilitate shipping for export as ammonia.
“We think that green hydrogen and ammonia will be a key part of fighting climate change, along with more renewable energy and direct electrification,” says Brendan Chard, vice-president of power for the company.
“We’ve got a very strong wind resource both onshore and offshore. There’s abundant fresh water, land available to site wind. And so, we think that all of those ingredients make it a really economic and exciting place to develop a project like ours.”
The company has two memorandums of understanding with German companies to sell a million tonnes of future green ammonia per year, as Germany seeks to reduce reliance on Russian fossil fuel products.
Some N.S. residents opposed to the plan
Steve Hart of Green Nova Scotia First at Card Lake Provincial Park in Nova Scotia.
Heidi Petracek/Global National
But there is local opposition to the plan and the provincial government’s enthusiasm for it.
A citizens’ group called “Green Nova Scotia First” says it has plenty of concerns.
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“I would like for them to go home,” says one of the group’s founders, Steve Hart.
Hart is worried about how construction of so many turbines could affect natural habitat and wildlife in three counties.
The project in his area is majority-owned by Membertou First Nation with EverWind as a minority partner.
“They have identified 94 wetlands. four of them of special significance,” he says.
Field assessments conducted by Strum Engineering for the project’s environmental assessment submission indicate the presence of endangered mainland moose in the area, but determined using areas already marked by human activity would “reduce habitat loss.”
It also found 77 wetlands would be disturbed by construction, adding, “The subsequent area of impact will be determined following the detailed design phase.”
“It is boilerplate verbatim conditional approval compared to all the other environmental assessments out there. It makes you wonder, there’s got to be someplace better to put this particular project for hydrogen use that doesn’t have to destroy 77 wetlands,” says Hart.
The group also questions the project’s timing, urging the province to focus on transitioning the power grid to more clean energy first. Right now, more than half of the province’s electricity comes from fossil fuels.
“There’s really going to be no space left in Nova Scotia. It’s going to be really, really hard to squeeze in enough projects to get Nova Scotia’s grid clean,” says Green Nova Scotia member Gregor Wilson.
“It’s a big, big problem,” he adds, “Why would we be exporting any kind of a wind energy-related product, when we dearly need it here in Nova Scotia?”
Chard counters that concern.
“At times, we will have more wind available than we can consume at the production facility. And that energy will be available to Nova Scotia Power to supply customers here in the province,” he explains.
He says EverWind would also pay $10 million in annual tariff payments to the utility which will have a “interruptible” clause.
“At times when the wind is more valuable to be used in Nova Scotia, the utility can tell us to stop producing hydrogen, use the wind that we’re producing, and that’s being delivered to the grid, and use that to serve customers here,” he says.
Chard anticipates 20 to 30 per cent of its wind power could go back into the grid.
‘It’s not a marketable commodity’
But some experts in the hydrogen field remain critical of wind-to-hydrogen plans.
Chemical engineer Paul Martin is one of those experts and is also a member of the non-profit Hydrogen Science Coalition.
“We shouldn’t pay a cent of public money towards it,” he says.
Martin says making hydrogen with wind power is still too inefficient…which means the resulting hydrogen is expensive, and a domestic market is yet to be realized.
“Why is there no hydrogen market? It’s not because people don’t use hydrogen. It’s because people make hydrogen right where they need it,” he says. “It’s not a marketable commodity. It’s a commodity that’s made and used, and it barely moves any distance at all.”
The properties of hydrogen mean shipping it as ammonia, which is also potentially dangerous, he warns.
“Especially when it’s used at scale. Because ammonia is not just toxic, it’s also really corrosive… And as a consequence of that fact and its environmental toxicity as well, it’s very toxic in aquatic environments.”
Nova Scotia’s provincial government developed its green hydrogen plan in December 2023 and hailed it in a news release as “a unique opportunity that will bring benefits to Nova Scotians for generations to come.”
An economic impact assessment by Deloitte of the company’s projected $13.7-billion investment project, which has been bolstered by a $125-million federal loan generate thousands of jobs and billions in GDP.
First Nation partners
Several First Nations are also equity partners in the project.
“We want to be self-reliant; we want to be in a position where we’ve taken step where we know we know we can have longevity not just developing wealth, but also developing jobs,” says Rose Paul, CEO of Bayside Corporation, the business arm of Paqtnkek First Nation.
As for any environmental concerns, Paul says their own staff are closely involved and monitoring the project.
“We’re stewards of our land, too, “ she says. “If this was something that was harmful to our lands, I wouldn’t have [any] part of it.”
Chard insists once the facility enters production, more markets will develop for green hydrogen produced in Nova Scotia.
“We’re confident that as that market develops, we’ll be able to supply our product here,” he says.
EverWind has promised to start production as early as next year.
