(Source: World Energy GH2)A wind farm project valued at $15 billion has secured sites for wind power generation for its three phases, according to World Energy GH2, the lead company from Canada overseeing the project.
The project, known as the Nujio'qonik project, received approval to use national land by the Canadian government. The name stems from the native language and means “where the sand blows.” Nujio'qonik is a large-scale green hydrogen commercialization project that aims to split water through electricity generated by wind power to produce green hydrogen without carbon emissions. The hydrogen will then be converted to green ammonia and transported across continents, including Europe.
In addition to World Energy GH2, SK Ecoplant plays a significant role in the project, owning a 20% stake in the project’s first phase through an investment agreement. SK Ecoplant will be involved in the supply and installation of electrolyzers for green hydrogen production and front-end engineering design (FEED) for the plant facility. The company’s subsidiary, SK Ecoengineering, will be responsible for converting green hydrogen into green ammonia. Already, the companies completed the preliminary step of pre-front-end engineering design (PRE-FEED) in August.
The project is located on Newfoundland Island in Newfoundland and Labrador, Eastern Canada, including Crown Land, which is a territory belonging to the Canadian Crown.
“Some of this land is leased through a bidding process to businesses engaged in wind power generation and hydrogen production projects,” the announcement stated.
Twenty-four projects bid for the lease of the wind power site, though only four projects, including Nujio'qonik, passed the final evaluation that examined project performance experience and power system connectivity. The approved land area is approximately 1.8 times the size of Seoul, or nearly 670 square miles.
With the acquisition of the state-approved land, the Nujio'qonik project has secured all sites for its three-stage expansion. The project also acquired the Port of Stephenville, considered an asset for production and intercontinental transportation of green hydrogen and green ammonia. The wind power plant will be able to produce close to 4 GW, which is equivalent to the output of three to four nuclear power plants.
In the initial phase of the project, the project is expected to include 1 gigawatts of onshore wind power generation for electricity production and 600 megawatts of electrolyzers. This includes a combination of solid oxide electrolysis cells (SOEC) and polymer electrolyte membrane electrolysis cells (PEMEC) for green hydrogen production. At full operational capacity, it will produce approximately 180,000 tons of green hydrogen and 1.08 million tons of green ammonia annually with the targets for green hydrogen production and green ammonia production set for 2025 and 2026, respectively.
The project will use SOEC from Bloom Energy, an SOEC manufacturing company based in California. The SOEC is designed to operate with high-temperature water vapor reaching up to 850 degrees Celsius, which reduces the electrical energy required for hydrogen extraction, improving efficiency.
In addition to receiving approval for the state-owned land, World Energy GH2 submitted environmental impact statement documents to the Newfoundland state government last month. The documents would be the first comprehensive environmental impact assessment for a commercial green hydrogen project if approved.
