A company that wants to build a green hydrogen plant in Nova Scotia has filed for environmental assessment for what would be the largest onshore wind farm in the province.
EverWind Fuels made the application last week for a 54-turbine, 432-megawatt wind project in Guysborough County at the corner of land where the Strait of Canso meets Chedabucto Bay.
The company, led by Australian private equity veteran Trent Vichie, is hoping to develop a plant in Point Tupper, N.S., to manufacture green hydrogen and ammonia for export. It wants to power the facility with wind energy.
EverWind has already received environmental approval for the plant and for three other onshore wind projects.
The latest and largest project is called Setapuktuk, and would be developed in partnership with Membertou Development Corporation.
No adverse effects, company says
According to the company’s application to Nova Scotia’s Environment Department, the project would cause some fish habitat loss, alterations to more than 80 wetlands, and it could cause the loss of some plant and lichen species that are designated as “at risk” or of “conservation interest.”
The project would require the clearing of about 623 hectares of land and would lead to the loss or fragmentation of some animal habitat.
But the company says the project overall “will not result in significant adverse residual effects.”
EverWind says it has reduced some potential environmental impacts by scaling the project back from its original plan of 84 turbines.
EverWind has property in Point Tupper, N.S., where it wants to build a green hydrogen and ammonia production plant. (Tom Ayers/CBC)
In addition to the 54 turbines that are now being pitched, the project includes access roads, a substation, an operations and maintenance building and six kilometres of transmission line, among other components.
Pending approval, construction is supposed to start in late 2026 and take 36 months to complete.
The province is accepting public comments on the environmental assessment until Nov. 12.
Company still not fully committed
Initially, EverWind had hoped to have its first wind farms and plant operating by 2024, but it has blown past that timeline.
The company has still not made a final investment decision — meaning it still isn’t fully committed to building any of the wind farms or the green hydrogen and ammonia production facility.
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Some people are skeptical about EverWind’s ambitious plans ever becoming a reality.Â
In July, a company official told CBC News it was aiming to make a final investment decision on the first-phase wind farms by the end of this year, and a decision on the plant in 2026.Â
One of its wind projects, Bear Lake, was recently denied a development agreement in a close vote by the municipal council in West Hants. The company has appealed the rejection to the Nova Scotia Regulatory and Appeals Board.
In the meantime, the company has a memorandum of understanding with the province that could lead to leases for Crown land for its proposed wind farms and plant.
Energy Minister Trevor Boudreau recently said there was no deadline for the company to act on that agreement.
“We do know they’re continuing to push forward with their green hydrogen project,” he told reporters at Province House last month. “If that wasn’t the case then I think that’s when you certainly would have some conversations.”