Surprise!!! Nova Scotia's Loudly Touted Green Hydrogen Plan Is Powered By Coal
In mid-September, the government of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia announced a blockbuster, 5bn-watt “green” hydrogen plant. The plant was meant to deliver 200,000 tonnes of ammonia to Europe each year, without the use of fossil fuels.
Heading into November there is no prospect green power will be available by the time the EverWind Fuels facility begins operations, the Energy Mix and Halifax Examiner have learned in a joint investigation in partnership with the Guardian.
In fact, the project touted for its potential to convert wind-generated electricity into a badly-needed green product will be powered partly by coal, at least in its first years of operation. The picture is further complicated in a province facing a 2030 deadline to shut down the coal plants that supplied 51% of its electricity in 2019, even as the rise of electric heat pumps and vehicles drives up demand for power.
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And it isn’t entirely clear how soon this “green” hydrogen project will have access to green power. The EverWind website claims it will use local wind power supply for carbon neutral fuel production. But asked where those supplies would come from, Vichie answered in mixed messages. “Just the Nova Scotia grid”, for the first phase, he said. That grid is owned by Nova Scotia Power (NSPC), which the province privatized in 1992, and is still heavily dependent on coal.
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https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/oct/26/nova-scotia-green-energy-plant-coal-powered