An Australian firm has scrapped its plans to build a $2 billion green hydrogen energy plant in British Columbia.The facility, which had been slated to be constructed in Prince George, was touted by Premier David Eby and the BC NDP as part of the province's success in becoming a leader in the sector."Fortescue recently completed an evaluation of our global project portfolio, with an aim to prioritize the projects in locations with favorable green energy policies and affordable and reliable renewable energy," Fortescue North America President and CEO Andrew Vesey wrote in a letter to the Environmental Assessment Office on September 26. The letter was a "formal request to withdraw the Coyote Hydrogen Project from the environmental assessment process.""We have focussed our energy project portfolio to include a pipeline of commercially viable projects to carry us forward and meet future demand, while acting in the best interests of our shareholders," Vesey explained. "With that, we have decided to put on hold our Project Coyote in Prince George until we are able to secure more favorable power pricing and availability.""We appreciate the support of your department, the BC Government, the City of Prince George, and the Lheidli T’enneh Nation," he added. "We valued the collaboration with you and your team as we navigated the Early Engagement Phase of the environmental assessment process."Eby had until recently made it seem as though Fortescue was still interested in doing business with BC, but noted last year that there were some hiccups that needed to be resolved before any serious investments were made."The challenge for us," he said, "is we want those jobs, we want this plant and we are entering into discussions and negotiations with Fortescue and how do we seize this economic opportunity without making British Columbians pay higher rates on their hydro bills?"As Fuel Cells Works reports, the project would have required 900 megawatts of hydroelectricity for hydrogen processing and an additional 100 for ammonia synthesis, just shy of the 1,100 megawatts expected to be generated by the Site C Dam when it opens next year.
An Australian firm has scrapped its plans to build a $2 billion green hydrogen energy plant in British Columbia.The facility, which had been slated to be constructed in Prince George, was touted by Premier David Eby and the BC NDP as part of the province's success in becoming a leader in the sector."Fortescue recently completed an evaluation of our global project portfolio, with an aim to prioritize the projects in locations with favorable green energy policies and affordable and reliable renewable energy," Fortescue North America President and CEO Andrew Vesey wrote in a letter to the Environmental Assessment Office on September 26. The letter was a "formal request to withdraw the Coyote Hydrogen Project from the environmental assessment process.""We have focussed our energy project portfolio to include a pipeline of commercially viable projects to carry us forward and meet future demand, while acting in the best interests of our shareholders," Vesey explained. "With that, we have decided to put on hold our Project Coyote in Prince George until we are able to secure more favorable power pricing and availability.""We appreciate the support of your department, the BC Government, the City of Prince George, and the Lheidli T’enneh Nation," he added. "We valued the collaboration with you and your team as we navigated the Early Engagement Phase of the environmental assessment process."Eby had until recently made it seem as though Fortescue was still interested in doing business with BC, but noted last year that there were some hiccups that needed to be resolved before any serious investments were made."The challenge for us," he said, "is we want those jobs, we want this plant and we are entering into discussions and negotiations with Fortescue and how do we seize this economic opportunity without making British Columbians pay higher rates on their hydro bills?"As Fuel Cells Works reports, the project would have required 900 megawatts of hydroelectricity for hydrogen processing and an additional 100 for ammonia synthesis, just shy of the 1,100 megawatts expected to be generated by the Site C Dam when it opens next year.
