In the face of doubts, Nova Scotia remains bullish on green hydrogen

The race to establish Canada's first commercial green hydrogen plant has thinned out, casting doubt on the industry's potential, but Nova Scotia's energy minister is undeterred.

"We're very motivated to continue working with developers on a path forward and we'll continue to do so," said Trevor Boudreau, who was appointed to manage the energy portfolio last month following a fall election.

Two companies are looking to build green hydrogen operations in Cape Breton. The plants would use wind energy to produce green hydrogen and convert it to ammonia, primarily for export to European markets.

Boudreau said the province has not given any money to the projects, but it has been trying to support them by working on the necessary legislative and regulatory conditions.

Late last year, a Newfoundland company that was pursuing a green hydrogen and ammonia plant announced it was pivoting away from its original plan because the European market was not materializing as quickly as hoped.

Some critics have said the market is unlikely to ever materialize and the export plan would not be an efficient use of renewable energy.

World Energy GH2 said it is now considering using the renewable energy it develops through wind farms to power data centres.

Boudreau wouldn't comment directly on World Energy GH2's pivot.

"We're always looking at all of the information that's provided and evaluating the opportunities that we have," he said.

The two companies vying to start operations in Nova Scotia are EverWind and Bear Head Energy. Neither immediately responded to CBC's request for an update on their projects.

They both have environmental approval for their plants and for some of the wind farms that would power them.

EverWind has secured two financial promises from the federal government — an agreement for a loan worth $125 million US and a grant worth $22.5 million Cdn.

NDP Leader Claudia Chender said the province should not be focusing on exporting renewable energy while Nova Scotia is still using coal and other greenhouse gas-emitting fuels to meet its own energy needs.

"We need to focus on a clean energy supply for our province," Chender said.

"We'll see what happens on the national and international stage, but we will continue to make sure that the first priority is meeting the needs of Nova Scotians," she added.

Interim Liberal Leader Derek Mombourquette said he thinks there is a market for green hydrogen and that the developments would be a boon for the communities around the Strait of Canso, where EverWind and Bear Head Energy both want to build their plants.

"For the Strait area, I'm hopeful that all the proponents there are successful," Mombourquette said.