5 days ago
Dwindling hype over hydrogen not a bad thing for industry's serious players, energy reps say
While much of the hype about wind-hydrogen projects in Newfoundland and Labrador has blown over, company representatives say it's a welcomed development, arguing that now only serious contenders to kickstart the sector remain.
In the past few months, many of the projects proposed in Newfoundland and Labrador have downsized or are exploring alternative business cases for a wind energy farm.
"A little bit of the hype and noise [have been] taken out of the conversation in the last year as a lot of realities [are] setting in. And it's the rubber hitting the road," EVREC co-founder Ravi Sood told reporters at the second day of the annual Energy N.L. conference in downtown St. John's.
Sood says he's more confident than ever about his proposed wind farm and ammonia plant in Botwood, specifically pointing to data emerging from Europe on green hydrogen pricing.
He's also watching a shake-up caused by U.S. President Donald Trump's move away from supporting clean energy initiatives — which Sood says is a boon for companies like EVREC, calling clean energy projects in the U.S. "dead. And that takes a lot of noise out of the market."
As a result, Sood says he's facing far less competition when trying to reach future buyers. He added the U.S. was never going to be a buyer, but was EVREC's competition.
"We now have our biggest, baddest, nastiest competitor taken off the board," said Sood.
'Policy turmoil'
Frank Davis, assistant vice-president with Pattern Energy, says he's also confident about the future wind project at the Port of Argentia, but says its development has to be timed to the pace of the global market, which isn't ready yet.
"We made significant progress with potential global partners on this, in Germany and beyond," said Davis.
Davis says there is a "lot of policy turmoil" in the as a result, he's seen support for green energy policies decline significantly.
"That's obviously going to have a ripple effect out into the broader market," he said.
Davis says this is an opportunity for Canada to step into that space to be a leader in the sector and become an "even more attractive destination for renewable energy investment capital."
Davis added he hopes all six companies looking to establish wind-hydrogen projects in the province — Everwind Fuels, Pattern Energy, World Energy GH2, North Atlantic, EVREC and ABO — have staying power.
"Perhaps this will slow down to more of a marathon, not a sprint," said Davis.
Karlis Povisils with Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners — which is working with ABO on its Toqlukuti'k wind and hydrogen project — says convincing buyers to commit to purchasing has caused delays.
"It's all about the off-take," he said. "Trying to bring a new industry about requires building a huge ecosystem."
He also says diminishing excitement over the industry is an overall positive development.
"Let's be honest, there was a lot of hype in 2021, 2022, when the world thought … everything's going to be running on hydrogen," said Povisils.
"And now I think the hype has boiled off. And that's a healthy thing. The players that are left are the ones that are serious and committed."
