Nova Scotia approves Indigenous-owned, largest-ever wind farm to power hydrogen production

By Chris Bosnia, The Energy Mix

Nova Scotia has conditionally approved its largest wind energy project to date, an onshore wind farm that will help power a green hydrogen and ammonia facility planned for Cape Breton.

“I am satisfied that any adverse effects or significant environmental effects of the undertaking can be adequately mitigated through compliance with the attached terms and conditions,” Nova Scotia Minister of Environment and Climate Change Timothy Halman wrote in a July 2 letter to developers, having approved the Ocean Lake Wind Project in Guysborough County after its environmental assessment was completed.

Ocean Lake is being developed by EverWind Fuels and Membertou Development Corp, the Membertou First Nation’s development arm. It will include up to 158 turbines and generate roughly 1,264 megawatts of electricity. Construction is expected to start in 2029 and take about five years, after which the project will operate for about 35 years.

The developers are required to meet 61 conditions set by the province, including limitations on shadow flicker and noise. Other conditions set requirements for reducing impacts on water resources, plants, animals, and archeological sites, and for engaging with the public and the Mi’kmaq of Nova Scotia.

The Nova Scotia government said in a release that the project’s electricity will be enough to power the equivalent of about 404,000 homes and reduce the province’s yearly greenhouse gas emissions by about 1.94 million tonnes. A project summary suggests the wind farm will support Nova Scotia’s emissions targets “by producing energy for new industrial activity without adding to the province’s GHG emissions.”

The generated power will be supplied to EverWind’s Point Tupper energy hub, where it will be used for green hydrogen and ammonia production, “as well as future business and industrial opportunities at Point Tupper,” an EverWind spokesperson told The Energy Mix.

The Point Tupper facility is meant to produce green hydrogen in two phases. The first phase, beginning in 2028, is expected to cost around $2 billion and produce about 200,000 tonnes of ammonia per year. The second will produce another 800,000 tonnes annually. Electricity from the Ocean Lake project and other proposed wind farms is intended to power this second phase.

The EverWind spokesperson said the Membertou Development Corporation holds a 51 per cent ownership interest in the wind projects planned to support Phase 1. While the structure for Phase 2 projects is expected to be similar, “specific ownership details are still to be determined.”

Ammonia produced at the facility is intended for export to countries, primarily in the European Union, where it can be processed into green hydrogen. Germany signed a non-binding agreement with Canada in 2022 to import green ammonia to reduce its reliance on Russian energy. So far, no green hydrogen has been produced at the facility.

In February, EverWind Chief Financial Officer Matthew Tinari said securing EU buyers is key to getting financing for projects. The company has started some preparatory work at wind farm sites, but won’t break ground on the Point Tupper facility without buyers lined up to purchase the product.

This story is part of The Energy Mix’s partnership with Small Change Fund.