(St. John's / Canada) – The tender for the development of hydrogen projects in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador is entering the second phase: The Ministry of Industry, Energy and Technology said it had received and examined 24 offers from 19 companies. Nine offers from nine companies were accepted for the second stage. The companies want to install wind turbines in the megawatt range in order to produce green hydrogen with the electricity generated there.
Burin Peninsula in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. © Everwind Fuels LLC
In the second phase, the bidder's experience, the proposed project, the financing plan and additional information on the requirements for grid connection and the involvement of the indigenous population will be examined, among other things, according to the ministry. This is expected to be completed by the end of August 2023. The successful bidders will then receive exclusive rights to develop the project on state-owned land. The properties will be held until the process is completed. “The projects have the potential to bring significant investment and economic activity to our province,” said Andrew Parsons, Minister of Industry, Energy and Technology.
Everwind wants to invest $8 billion
The developer of systems for the production and storage of green hydrogen and ammonia, Everwind Fuels LLC, has made it onto the Department of Energy's shortlist. The company wants to produce green hydrogen on the Burin Peninsula together with the CNW Group. Planned investment volume: eight billion Canadian dollars (5,58 billion euros).
Location of the Burin Peninsula (highlighted) in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador on the east coast of the country. © Gov. of Canada
According to Trent Vichie, CEO and founder of Everwind, preliminary technological studies (pre-FEED engineering) were advanced last year and private land was also acquired. In the coming months, the company plans to initially build six weather towers on Burin to collect data on wind resources, which is crucial for project development and financing. Everwind will use electricity from wind turbines with an output of more than two gigawatts to produce hydrogen, which will then be converted into environmentally friendly ammonia and exported.
The Nova Scotia Project
The port of Point Tupper in the neighboring province plays a central role in the project Nova Scotia. In May 2022, Everwind acquired a storage terminal there from NuStar Energy LP. Point Tupper on the Strait of Canso near Port Hawkesbury is an ice-free deep sea port. The location on the east coast of North America offers access to rail, road and pipelines.
The first phase of the project there is aimed at producing around 2025 tonnes of environmentally friendly ammonia per year from 240.000. By 2026, production is expected to increase more than sixfold to 1,5 million tons. Here too, electricity from wind farms under development with an output of more than two gigawatts serves as the basis for electrolysis.
Just on Monday (July 17), the company announced the purchase of three wind farms in Nova Scotia: “Windy Ridge”, “Bear Lake” and “Kmtnuk” with a cumulative installed capacity of 530 megawatts. The development is carried out in collaboration with Renewable Energy Systems Ltd. (RES). The investments are intended to accelerate the hydrogen projects and are reportedly worth one billion US dollars (0,92 billion euros). The wind turbines alone would create 650 jobs during the construction phase, followed by around 30 full-time positions.
German-Canadian cooperation
Last August, Federal Economics Minister Robert Habeck and Canadian Energy Minister Jonathan Wilkinson held a meeting in the small port town of Stephenville on the west coast of Newfoundland in the presence of Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Hydrogen agreement (“Canada-Germany Hydrogen Alliance”). This serves as the basis for a – non-exclusive – trade corridor between Germany and Canada.
Federal Economics Minister Habeck and Energy Minister Wilkinson after the signing of the German-Canadian Hydrogen Agreement in August 2022 in the presence of the two heads of government Trudeau and Scholz. © Federal Government / Denzel
As is usual on such trips, the German politicians were accompanied by high-ranking business representatives. On the sidelines, Everwind Fuels signed letters of intent with the two German energy companies Uniper SE and Eon SE to purchase green ammonia from the Point Tupper production plant. According to the information, the order volume is around 500.000 tons annually from 2025.
Everwind professes to respect the traditional territory of the First Nations tribes, including the Mi'kmaq people, in the planning areas for the wind turbines and to involve the population. They are committed to working with Mi'kmaq and offering a comprehensive partnership on all aspects of the project. Everwind's project in Nova Scotia includes three Mi'kmaq partners and is "committed to promoting social and economic reconciliation." Nevertheless, there have already been protests against the plans. There seems to be great concern about being taken over by the industry.
Photo above
Point Tupper deep sea port in Nova Scotia. Everwind wants to ship hydrogen and its derivatives here in the future. © NuStar Energy Canada Partnership Ltd. / Marinas.com, Inc.
