Everwind spending $50M on tugboats to support green energy plans

Tom Ayers · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 13, 2025 3:41 PM EDT | Last Updated: 9 minutes ago

A institution hoping to nutrient greenish hydrogen successful Nova Scotia's Strait of Canso is spending $50 cardinal to modernize its fleet of tugboats.

Everwind Fuels said Thursday it is buying 3 caller tugboats from a institution successful the Netherlands to trim greenhouse state emissions. It plans to prosecute 15 caller section employees.

The institution presently stores and ships accepted fuels and wastewater astatine its terminal successful Point Tupper and plans to make greenish hydrogen utilizing upwind powerfulness and h2o from adjacent Landrie Lake.

David Hart, manager of Point Tupper Marine Services, which is owned by Everwind and is its tug operator, said the boats are needed to escort and assistance dock ample ships. He said buying modern, fuel-efficient ones sends a beardown message.

"It creates assurance successful our customers that we tin accidental what we bash and bash what we accidental and present and determination those products safely to and from the terminal and successful and retired of the port."

The tugs are besides disposable to work different users of the larboard and the locks astatine the Canso canal.

Everwind spokesperson Claire Parsons said the caller tugs volition besides beryllium adaptable arsenic cleanable vigor becomes available.

'Huge measurement forward'

"They volition beryllium operating connected accepted fuel, but we volition beryllium moving with our Maritime partners to hopefully displacement them to electrical oregon greenish ammonia erstwhile we person our renewable vigor up and running," she said.

The tugs are expected to trim nitrogen oxide emissions by astir 80 per cent and c dioxide by 25 per cent compared to the existing ones, which are up to 35 years old.

"This is simply a immense measurement guardant for greenish shipping successful our region," Parsons said.

Richmond County Warden Lois Landry said investments successful section infrastructure are critical, particularly successful agrarian areas.

She said Everwind's tugboat acquisition is not conscionable astir infrastructure. It's besides supporting section families.

"They bring long-term, good-paying jobs and guarantee that the economical benefits of cleanable vigor and sustainable shipping enactment close present successful our region," Landry said.

Richmond MLA and Energy Minister Trevor Boudreau said the provincial authorities is supporting greenish vigor with its greenish hydrogen enactment program and offshore upwind roadworthy map.

"This is precisely the benignant of concern we privation to see," helium said. "It's backstage investment."

Everwind has received hundreds of millions of dollars successful national loans and different funding, including a $22.5-million Transport Canada assistance past autumn that was intended to enactment acquisition of a loading limb to substance and capable ships astatine the terminal, to assistance physique a pipeline astatine the terminal, and to bargain caller tugboats.

The state has approved 3 onshore upwind projects elsewhere successful Nova Scotia to powerfulness the company's plans to nutrient greenish hydrogen and ammonia.

Everwind precocious applied for support to tally an energy transmission enactment crossed the Strait to get greenish energy to its site.

Some critics person said the marketplace for greenish hydrogen is improbable to ever materialize and the export program would not beryllium an businesslike usage of renewable energy.

Boudreau said helium understands people's questions, but helium said the greenish vigor manufacture is gaining momentum successful Nova Scotia.

"I deliberation a spot of steadfast skepticism is ever bully ... but astatine the extremity of the day, erstwhile you person companies investing successful their operations ... it's a good-news story."

The tugboats are expected to beryllium delivered this summer.

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