(St. John’s) A multibillion-dollar megaproject approved Tuesday in Newfoundland and Labrador as part of a race to develop the country’s first green hydrogen operation has some wondering whether the province has learned from his mistakes.
Sean Leet, managing director of World Energy GH2, says he is aware of residents’ concerns about the US12 billion Nujio’qonik project, while saying the company is building something the province and country will be happy to see. proud.
For Nick Mercer, assistant professor of environmental sciences at the University of Prince Edward Island, plans for more than 300 wind turbines and a hydrogen and ammonia production plant in western Ontario the island of Newfoundland do not provide enough benefits or control to residents.
Mr. Mercer, who grew up in the province, is also part of a group of concerned citizens concerned that the World Energy-led megaproject GH2 is too large, experimental and is using rural Newfoundland as a testing ground for the benefit of a private company.
Bill Montevecchi, a seabird specialist at Memorial University in Saint John, points out that the province’s problems with the Muskrat Falls hydroelectric dam show that large, big-budget projects carry enormous risks.
The provincial government on Tuesday approved the environmental assessment of the Nujio’qonik project under several conditions, and Leet says the company will make a final decision early next year on whether or not to continue with the operation.
The Muskrat Falls hydroelectric dam received the green light from the province’s Progressive Conservative government in 2012, at a price estimated at around $7.4 billion. Its cost has since climbed to more than 13 billion.
Although it was finally declared working last year, some of its components have continued problems.
Premier Andrew Furey’s Liberal government often blames Muskrat Falls for the province’s financial problems, and he called it in 2021 “an anchor around the collective soul” of Newfoundland citizens -and-Labrador.