Once a high-profile emitter, Port of Belledune wants to be a green energy hub

The Port of Belledune is trying to reinvent itself as a very specialized industrial park for green energy in New Brunswick. 

"We're really focused on cleaning up our own backyard and looking at clean fuel for the power plant, but also to attract other industries to use that clean fuel to produce a value-added product," Denis Caron, the port president and CEO, told Information Morning Moncton.

Until now, Belledune has been a big emitter of greenhouse gases. Its propane-fuelled smelter closed in 2019, and a coal-fired power plant must switch to a cleaner fuel by 2030 or shut down.

A port plan developed with consultants calls for power generation using biomass, wind and solar within the next two to three years, production of hydrogen within four or five years and the possible use of small modular nuclear reactors if and when that technology is ready — in "probably eight to 10 years," Caron said.

Plan put before public

The plan was presented at recent community meetings in Bathurst, Campbellton and Caraquet.

Campbellton Mayor Jean-Guy Levesque the plan was well-received by a cross-section of the public.

Levesque was a member of an advisory committee that also worked on the plan and is keenly interested in the port's potential to create job opportunities in northern New Brunswick.

His priority is communicating with people about any concerns they have so the plan isn't held up.

The plan could transform the industrial landscape and reverse the region's fortunes, Levesque said.

"It's an amazing vision."

Moncton-area economist David Campbell estimated that if the port plan comes to fruition, 1,800 to 2,000 jobs would be created in construction and 1,000 to 1,200 would be created directly to support these industries over 12 to 13 years, said Caron.

That far exceeds the 450 who used to work at the smelter and 1,000 or so who worked locally in mining, he said. Many still live in the area but fly out for work, he said, and the port plan could lead to opportunities closer to home.

Mixed review from conservation group

Not everyone is entirely supportive.

The Conservation Council of New Brunswick is "first and foremost … happy" the port wants to transition away from fossil fuels to more renewable technologies, said Moe Qureshi, director of climate research and policy.

But it's "not very happy" about the biomass plan for N.B. Power's Belledune generating station.

Burning wood isn't an efficient way to generate electricity, Qureshi said, and it would be difficult to regrow trees at the rate they are burnt up as wood pellets.

"We don't believe biomass is a truly sustainable option."

N.B. Power is looking at using black wood pellets at Belledune, Caron said. These are more energy dense and similar to coal, and may not require any refitting or capital spending at the power plant.

Two black wood pellet products were test burned last spring and fall, one from Arbaflame in Norway and one from Airex in Quebec, and their efficiency rates were "very high," he said.

Results are still being analyzed, but the tests "indicated that advanced wood pellets are a technically feasible solution," spokesperson Dominique Couture said in an email to CBC.

"Our business case assumptions have been validated and indicate advanced wood pellets are the least-cost option for getting Belledune off coal by 2030."

The environmental impact is also being considered, Couture.

"Obviously, it has to be done sustainably," Caron said. "We can't go cutting down all the trees in the forest."

Four wood pellet manufacturers now export their products to the U.K. through Belledune.

They could help supply the generating station, but they'd have to invest millions of dollars to switch from making white pellets to black pellets, Caron said. 

Making better use of forestry waste

New Brunswick forestry practices would also have to be modified, he said, to make better use of material currently left on the ground or considered waste at mills, such as bark and sawdust.

Expressions of interest have been received from companies that would provide more than enough wood pellets to fuel the plant, Brad Coady, N.B. Power's vice-president of business development and strategic partnerships, said at the legislature's public accounts committee on Thursday.

The utility now wants to firm up fuel supply agreements with companies "in and around" New Brunswick, he said.

He expects to be able to seek final approvals from the utility's board and the Energy and Utilities Board in the coming months.

"It looks very promising," he said.

In that case, the power plant could begin using wood pellets as fuel in 2027, said Caron.

By 2028, the port also wants to be generating 60,000 tonnes a year of "emission-free hydrogen." 

Green hydrogen is expected to replace fossil fuel in Canada, the U.S. and Europe, said Caron. 

It can power ships, industry and heat homes with zero emissions, he said.

The port is already working with some developers about green hydrogen production in Belledune, said Caron.

For this, they'd use wind power and fresh water from available sources that have been used by N.B. Power and mining company Glencore, he said.

To produce hydrogen, water is basically put into a box and split into its molecular components of hydrogen and oxygen using electrolyzers, explained Caron.

Creating an N.B.-EU corridor

The hydrogen produced in Belledune would either be exported to Europe or used domestically, he said.

The port has recently signed direct trade agreements with three ports in Europe — creating a corridor between New Brunswick and the biggest green energy markets in Europe.

One possible domestic use could be making green steel on site in Belledune with hydrogen-powered industrial processes and iron ore from Sept-Iles, Que., said Caron.

Another could be to fuel a cement plant across the bay in Port-Daniel, Que.

"Steel, cement and power plants are the largest emitters and they're all looking for clean solutions."

Hydrogen produced in Belledune could also be mixed with CO2, said Caron, to yield aviation fuel or fuel for vessels.

Spanish multinational energy company Repsol recently announced it was cutting its future hydrogen production target because of high costs and delays in market development.

But Caron said he's had encouraging discussions with the Port of Hamburg in Germany, Antwerp in Belgium and Rotterdam in the Netherlands.

"All officials that we've been dealing with, including government officials there, are very bullish that hydrogen and clean fuel is the fuel of the future," he said.

Conservation Council concerns

The Conservation Council approves of using green hydrogen for local manufacturing, such as steelmaking, but would have concerns if it's going to be exported, said Qureshi.

"It's extraordinarily dangerous, expensive and inefficient," he said. "The hydrogen can leak from tanks or you have to compress it and freeze it at really, really cold temperatures or you have to convert it to ammonia, but it's just such a headache."

Qureshi is slightly more receptive to using hydrogen to make methanol for export, which Caron said was also a possibility. 

But he still favours using it closer to home. 

"There's a lot of opportunity to trade it locally instead of shipping it overseas," he said, especially in light of trade issues with the U.S.

The environmental advocacy group generally favours wind, solar and small-scale hydro projects to bolster the province's generation capacity.

And the port's plan does include some renewables.

"Since we have a power plant at the port, we are connected to the grid," Caron said. "So, whether there's a solar farm in Shediac or Scoudouc or a wind farm somewhere else in the province, we're able to wheel that power to Belledune and use it, once again, for industry."

Qureshi would love to see it champion the province's first offshore wind development.

"This is the chance for New Brunswick to step into that realm," he said, noting Nova Scotia is already going there.