Federal government loans EverWind Fuels $125M for proposed green hydrogen plant

The federal Liberal government is making a $125-million loan to a proposed green hydrogen facility in Nova Scotia's Strait of Canso area.

The proponent, EverWind Fuels, says the funding makes the project closer to reality than any other of its kind in the Western hemisphere.

More than 50 municipal and business officials from around Cape Breton and the mainland near the Strait crowded into the Port Hawkesbury civic centre late Friday afternoon.

There were cheers as Sean Fraser, Liberal MP for Central Nova, announced the funding.

He and EverWind CEO Trent Vichie said the project is expected to bring thousands of jobs to Cape Breton and Nova Scotia.

"Hopefully, it can mean that the region is a leader in the world and hopefully it brings some folks who've been working out west back home," Vichie said.

Vichie said the company has invested $200 million already and the federal loan will help further the design of a hydrogen production facility in Richmond County's Point Tupper Industrial Park.

That's where the company bought a petrochemical storage plant with access to rail and pipelines to a ship-loading facility in the Strait.

Vichie said some site preparation work has already begun at the facility in Point Tupper.

The plan is to use wind and solar energy sources to extract hydrogen from the water in nearby Landrie Lake and to convert the hydrogen to energy for export.

EverWind's large wind turbine projects in Colchester County are going through the regulatory process and, along with solar panels at the planned production facility, the $3-billion project will produce cheap green hydrogen fuel, Vichie said.

Fraser said clean energy will then be available for export to other countries, including Germany, which has already signed agreements with Canada.

He said talks are also underway for the development of storage and distribution systems for green energy use in Nova Scotia, but Vichie said that would constitute a second phase of the development.

Another green hydrogen project is being proposed not far away in Point Tupper at the Bear Head site.

Fraser said the federal government would consider investing in that project as well, but EverWind is leading the pack in terms of readiness.

"This is actually the most advanced green hydrogen project in the Western hemisphere," the MP and federal housing minister said.

"There is not another one on this side of the planet, let alone this side of the Strait of Canso, that compares."

Power grid investment

Vichie said EverWind plans to use solar panels at its production plant and is working with governments and Nova Scotia Power to bring electricity from its proposed wind farms in Colchester County, about 200 kilometres away, to the Point Tupper site.

He said that will require the company to invest in the province's power grid, but it will also add more renewable sources to the system as it transitions away from fossil fuels.

"It's part of the cost of doing business, but I think it works as a win-win for both," Vichie said.

Fraser said it will make the green energy more costly, but it would still make economic sense.

"When you're dealing with a multi-billion-dollar private sector investment, the cost of transmission is going to be a small component compared to the extraordinary magnitude of an investment of this nature," he said.

"In Nova Scotia, it's going to put thousands of people to work."

Vichie said there's plenty of investment capital available for green energy production, but there aren't enough plants in operation.

The real problem is that green hydrogen is an emerging technology and government regulations have not yet caught up to the demand, he said.

"We have three investment banks working with us," Vichie said. "That is the least of my worries. It's more just getting through the development permits ready to build."

EverWind expects to make a final investment decision early in the new year, but is already spending money on the assumption the project will go ahead, he said.

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