Nova Scotia approves another wind farm to power green hydrogen plant

Nova Scotia has approved a third and final wind farm meant to feed EverWind Fuels' green hydrogen and ammonia production facility.

Last week, Nova Scotia Environment Minister Tim Halman approved the Windy Ridge project, a 49-turbine, 340-megawatt wind farm just north of Debert, N.S.

A spokesperson for EverWind said the company is pleased, and is on track to have its wind farms online by 2026.

Its other two projects, Kmtnuk and Bear Lake, were granted provincial approval late last year.

The company noted the approvals were conditional on further wildlife impact studies and the development of mitigation strategies. The projects will also need construction permits from municipal governments.

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EverWind's wind farms will connect to Nova Scotia Power's grid, but that is not the final destination for the energy.

The company plans to build a facility in Point Tupper, N.S., that will use the wind energy to produce green hydrogen and convert it to ammonia for export to Europe.

That plan has drawn criticism from some who believe any renewable energy produced in Nova Scotia should only be used locally until the province has completely transitioned off fossil fuels.

Nancy Frame is among those critics. She's a member of an advocacy group called Green Nova Scotia First, and she lives in Colchester County, not far from where EverWind plans to build the Windy Ridge project.

Disappointed, not surprised

Frame said she was disappointed but not surprised by the latest provincial approval, given the approval of EverWind's other proposals and the provincial government's eagerness to grow the wind industry.

"I do believe in renewable energy, I know we need to get off [fossil fuels], but I feel this project is sacrificing a huge amount of our natural resources for a purpose that is not going to get us off [fossil fuels]," she said in an interview.

EverWind has touted the benefit its wind projects could have for the Nova Scotia grid, including helping the province to decarbonize by contributing its surplus energy to local use.

"I think that could be considered greenwashing," said Frame.

She said she thinks it's more likely that EverWind's projects will disadvantage other wind farms whose energy is destined for local use by competing for labour, land and materials.

Frame and other members of Green Nova Scotia First want the province to create a land-use planning strategy for wind farms before approving more projects.

A spokesperson for the Department of Natural Resources and Renewables said a province-wide assessment has not been undertaken, and that companies are best positioned to identify locations that have the right conditions for producing clean energy.

They noted that Nova Scotia "is looking at conservation and sustainable land use through the Collaborative Protected Areas Strategy."

That strategy aims to protect 20 per cent of Nova Scotia's land and water by 2030.

Frame said she was hoping a promised update to the environmental assessment process would have been complete before Windy Ridge's approval was granted. That update is in limbo.