If Newfoundland hydrogen companies pivot, government says it will collect royalties

Sarah Smellie · The Canadian Press

· Posted: Jul 03, 2025 2:35 PM EDT | Last Updated: July 3

Despite a lagging marketplace for greenish hydrogen, the Newfoundland and Labrador authorities says it inactive plans to cod royalties from the province's nascent renewable vigor industry.

Steve Crocker, curate of industry, vigor and technology, says his section is keeping a adjacent oculus connected developments successful the manufacture and volition travel up with an due royalty authorities if immoderate of the projected wind-powered hydrogen operations pivot to absorption exclusively connected upwind energy.

He besides said the province's Crown powerfulness inferior would measurement successful if immoderate of the companies are pitching to proviso the province's powerfulness grid.

"This is simply a assets that, astatine the extremity of day, belongs to the radical of Newfoundland and Labrador," Crocker said. "No antithetic than we did for upwind to hydrogen, we would surely bash for immoderate different wind-type proposal."

Newfoundland and Labrador has a "fiscal framework" successful spot to cod royalties and benefits from projected projects connected Crown onshore that would usage energy generated by upwind powerfulness to nutrient hydrogen. The benefits see fees for Crown lands, a $4,000-per-megawatt wind-electricity taxation and h2o royalties that would footwear successful erstwhile the projects person recovered their costs.

The model is circumstantial to projects utilizing upwind powerfulness to nutrient hydrogen.

Six companies person reserved Crown onshore to make green hydrogen projects successful the province, but not each of them are up to day successful paying fees they beryllium the government, The Canadian Press reported successful June.

Last month, executives from immoderate of those companies told an vigor league successful St. John's, N.L., that they were eyeing wind-energy projects arsenic the marketplace for greenish hydrogen lags. The companies anticipation to usage upwind to make energy to nutrient hydrogen products, and past merchantability them to buyers successful Europe.

It's been pugnacious to unafraid binding agreements with buyers that would marque their projects viable, the executives said.

In the meantime, respective said they were anxious for an expected telephone for renewable vigor from Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro.

Jill Pitcher, a spokesperson for the utility, said N.L. Hydro expects to merchandise an look of involvement for renewable vigor "within the adjacent mates weeks."

"Discussions connected royalties oregon benefits would instrumentality spot during the [expression of interest] process," Pitcher said successful an email.

Crocker said his section has not received immoderate "formal correspondence" from greenish hydrogen companies saying they intended to deviate from their wind-to-hydrogen plans. Any changes would person to beryllium approved by the provincial government, helium added.

The state is holding astir 4,000-square-kilometres of Crown onshore successful reserve for the six companies proposing wind-to-hydrogen developments connected the land of Newfoundland. So far, 1 task — World Energy GH2's $16-billion task successful occidental Newfoundland — has cleared the province's biology appraisal process. Three others are successful the midst of it.

Crocker said helium is optimistic that the wind-to-hydrogen assemblage volition instrumentality off.

"There's inactive a batch of enactment to do, but we inactive spot superior interest," helium said.

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