A wind energy company in Nova Scotia with the backing of local First Nations has secured $240 million in financing to construct onshore wind farms and an associated green hydrogen project that aims to be the first of its kind in Atlantic Canada.
Trent Vichie, CEO of EverWind Fuels, said the financing from New York-based investment manager Nuveen Infrastructure Credit will be used to advance work on the first phase of wind turbines that will eventually power a hydrogen and ammonia plant in Richmond County, Cape Breton. Vichie says EverWind has not yet signed up a customer for the hydrogen, but Germany has shown interest in Canadian exports.
“We’re excited because it’s an institutional investor, who’s extremely experienced in the space, investing in this Phase 1,” Vichie said in an interview Monday about Nuveen. “And so getting this thing to financial close this year and starting to build — it means 100 long-term skilled jobs, 500 construction jobs (and) over $1 billion in contracts and procurement opportunities in Nova Scotia.”
Vichie says Nuveen, which manages a portfolio worth US$1.4 trillion, is providing “structured financing,” a complex financial instrument used to manage credit risk. Vichie says the financing has “debt- and equity-like characteristics” but declined to be more specific.
EverWind says Phase 1 includes four separate wind turbine projects around the province that together will have capacity to produce more than 650 megawatts of electricity, enough to power about 200,000 homes. The turbines will relay power through the provincial power grid to EverWind’s Point Tupper hydrogen and ammonia project in Richmond County, the first of its kind in Atlantic Canada. The plan is for the first wind energy to flow in 2028 with the hydrogen plant to come online a few years later.
The first phase of the project is projected to produce about 200,000 tonnes of clean ammonia a year. Ammonia is the most common way to ship hydrogen long distance. The second phase, which will include an additional wind farm and a dedicated transmission line, could add another 800,000 tonnes of ammonia per year.
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An Indigenous consortium led by Cape Breton’s Membertou First Nation holds 51 per cent ownership in the first phase of the wind portfolio. The Paqtnkek and Potlotek First Nations are also partners. “This financing marks a significant step forward in delivering clean energy projects that Indigenous communities are helping lead and shape,” Membertou Chief Terry Paul said in a statement.
“It signals confidence in the strength of the partnership, the quality of the work completed to date and the long-term vision behind these developments. For Membertou, participation at this level is about creating enduring economic opportunity while ensuring projects are developed with care, accountability and respect for Mi’kma’ki (traditional lands).”
EverWind says it’s planning more than $2 billion in investment on the first phase of the project. Vichie says the company has begun clearing land on the largest wind farm — the 47-turbine Windy Ridge project about 30 kilometres northwest of Truro, N.S.
In January, the European Union committed 200 million euros to support the production of renewable hydrogen and its derivatives in Canada, saying the money will unlock matching funds from the Canadian government for fuels that would be exported to Germany. Former prime minister Justin Trudeau and former German chancellor Olaf Scholz signed a joint declaration of intent to work together on hydrogen in western Newfoundland in 2022 as a way to lessen the European country’s dependence on Russian energy following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Auctions for Canadian hydrogen suppliers seeking rights to supply Germany are scheduled for 2027 with up to 300 megawatts of capacity on offer. The hydrogen will then be auctioned off to German buyers. The EU says that much fuel could mean almost 2.5 million fewer tonnes of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
Hydrogen projects in Atlantic Canada have not been without their challenges. Last month, the Newfoundland and Labrador government said it was owed more than $34 million in land reserve fees by several companies that had hoped to build wind-powered hydrogen operations. The government decided not to renew land reserves for three companies: EverWind, World Energy GH2, and Toqlukuti’k Wind and Hydrogen. Vichie said Monday that EverWind is still in discussions with the government on the matter.
World Energy GH2’s project was in partnership with CFFI Ventures, an investment firm run by seafood magnate John Risley. CFFI announced last month that it had submitted a plan to Nova Scotia’s Supreme Court to transfer its assets to a new owner in an effort to arrange its debt and become financially sustainable. Court documents show the company owes more than US$776 million. World Energy GH2 has since filed for creditor protection.
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