With two green hydrogen and ammonia projects expected to use water from Landrie Lake, and the expected influx of more residents once construction and operation starts, will the water source be able to handle the increased usage?
During an open house in Port Hawkesbury on Jan. 18, Bear Head Energy COO Paul MacLean said once they build out the project’s full two-gigawatt capacity, they would produce about 350,000 tonnes of hydrogen and about 2,000,000 tonnes of ammonia per year.
Bear Head Energy is developing a green hydrogen and ammonia production, storage and loading facility, located at the former Bear Head LNG site in Point Tupper.
MacLean said their project will be constructed in phases, with the initial phase around 500 megawatts.
Noting that ammonia and hydrogen have been produced all over the world for years, MacLean said what makes it green is producing it using renewable energy, like wind, tidal or hydro power.
Explaining the process, MacLean said water is run through electrolysers, then renewable electricity splits the hydrogen and the oxygen from the water, and the hydrogen is compressed and stored.
Once the hydrogen is captured, it is combined with nitrogen to make anhydrous ammonia, which can then be shipped all over the world, MacLean noted.
When the ammonia is burned, MacLean said there are no “real emissions,” and the only by-product is water.
Cryogenic air separation units will withdraw nitrogen from the air that will be combined with hydrogen to produce liquid ammonia, said MacLean.
Bear Head’s primary focus is on European markets, as their location in Point Tupper provides a strategic shipping advantage to get the product to market, and they need to utilize the European markets, where there is great demand for green hydrogen and green ammonia, said MacLean.
The COO estimated about 90 per cent of the hydrogen they produce will be converted to ammonia and shipped abroad, but their plans are to start shipping more to Atlantic Canada over the long term.
MacLean said Bear Head Energy has already invested $150 million on civil engineering and construction work and the project is shovel-ready, after suspending construction on the former LNG site in 2007. He noted this would be a “re-start” of the construction.
MacLean said they purchased the project in 2021 from LNG Limited and decided right away to move away from fossil fuels and join the fight against climate change.
In July 2022, MacLean said a deal was officially reached to sell Bear Head to their now parent company, Buckeye Partners, which owns 135 different terminals across the United States and the Caribbean and operates 5,500 miles of pipeline. He said Buckeye Partners wants to transition their assets over to green fuels and are using the project as their cornerstone piece for Canada.
Amendments were filed with Nova Scotia’s Department of Environment and Climate Change and federal regulators in the third quarter of 2022, and recently, representatives with Bear Head met with the Strait Area Campus of the NSCC as they want to run any ship simulations at the Nautical Institute in Port Hawkesbury, said MacLean.
A benefits agreement was signed with the Nova Scotia Mi’kmaq back in 2019 for the LNG project, and MacLean said the company is currently re-working that to reflect the move from fossil fuels to green hydrogen and green ammonia. He noted that Mi’kmaq communities are anxious to see a green project like theirs move forward.’
By the end of this month or the first week of February, MacLean said they will file a Class 1 Project Registration Document, then start long-term procurement for some of the long-lead items in late 2023 to mid-2024, with goals to begin construction and procurement the fourth fiscal quarter of 2024.
MacLean said onshore and offshore wind farms will have to be created to support the hydrogen project.
As for the common uses of green hydrogen and green ammonia, MacLean advised that the hydrogen itself can be used for fuel in gas turbine engines and fuel cells; for heating, to generate high-temperature heat; for steel production; and can be used to replace gasoline and diesel.
Ammonia, MacLean explained, has a multitude of uses. He said they could use the anhydrous ammonia they will be producing as a key component of fertilizer, it can also be used as a fuel replacement to reduce carbon footprints, and it can be used in the mass production of a lot of essential chemicals.
Growing up in Port Hawkesbury, MacLean suggested the last thing he wants is to have any issues with a plant like theirs, and he said they went the extra mile making sure they’re addressing every risk and consequence possible.
After they submitted the project description to the Department of Environment and Climate Change, MacLean said the province asked them to go through a Class 1 environmental assessment, and they company is finalizing the registration document for submission.
Because they did so much field work from the LNG export project and have so much data on the site, MacLean said it was “fairly easy” to bring together a comprehensive document.
MacLean said they commissioned an eel grass survey in September; an aquatic habitat survey in November; they’ve had biologists doing preliminary walkouts for surveys for mammals, reptiles, wetlands and general habitats; and they’re anticipating to complete winter track surveys in 2023.
MacLean suggested once they submit the proposal, they expect to hear from the minister within 50 days, whether it’s a yes, no, or a request for more information.
Bear Head is anticipating that this will diversify the local economy as it’s establishing a new industry and there will be regional economic benefits, from construction and the long-term operation, MacLean said, noting that during the construction phase, they feel there will be upwards of 700 jobs over three years.
MacLean said their long term goal is to be in construction for a 10 year period and build a hydrogen hub in the Strait area. As far as the ongoing operations and maintenance, MacLean said they’re estimated 75 permanent jobs at the site.”
MacLean said Bear Head was fully permitted as an LNG export facility back in 2015 and some of the permits for that facility were grandfathered.
For the full build out to the 2 gigawatts, MacLean said Bear Head Energy would require a maximum of four million gallons of water per day, and they already have a Memorandum of Understanding in place with the Landrie Lake Water Utility for that water supply.
With EverWind Fuels Company also planning a large scale green hydrogen and green ammonia production facility in Point Tupper, and also hoping to use water from Landrie Lake, some residents are wondering whether this is too much for a water source that also supplies the Town of Port Hawkesbury.
According the environmental assessment submitted to the province by EverWind Fuels, they expect to use 8.3 mega litres per day of raw fresh water from Landrie Lake during peak cooling days in the summer. They said daily consumption will be reduced during the shoulder seasons and in the winter.
With hundreds of people expected during the construction phases of both projects, and others during operation, the question of capacity comes into sharper focus when considering that the local population could increase substantially and permanently during these periods.
But when asked about these concerns, Port Hawkesbury CAO Terry Doyle said the water utility, which is co-owned by the town and the Municipality of the County of Richmond, has been working with the companies to ensure there is a consistent fresh water supply for both projects.
The watershed was established to provide water to industry (like the Heavy Water Plant) in Point Tupper, Doyle said, and is considered a “large industrial basin.” The original design was for “much bigger usage” than what will be required by both EverWind and Bear Head, he said.
Noting “there is capacity,” the CAO said they can easily supply potable water to residents while supplying industry like Port Hawkesbury Paper and Nova Scotia Power.
Doyle said they are working with the province, they recently completed a hydrology study, and are studying the whole watershed, including the Little River area, which was the original watershed for Point Tupper.
Based on initial results, Doyle said increased usage will not be a problem.
Hopefully, more studies and test results will confirm these initial findings before it’s too late.
It is also hoped that these studies and tests are comprehensive, not rushed, and take all factors into consideration to make sure, most importantly, that residents have a stable and safe water supply, and secondly that it can fulfill the needs of industry.