Irish company plans renewable energy megaproject for rural Nova Scotia
Irish renewable energy firm Simply Blue is gearing up for a multibillion-dollar project on Nova Scotia's Eastern Shore that's meant to convert wind, solar and biomass energy into jet fuel.
The company has been quietly working on the project for three years and shared details publicly for the first time on Friday.
The megaproject would include wind and solar farms that feed electricity to a production plant in the community of Goldboro, N.S. There, Simply Blue plans to generate green hydrogen, which it would pair with biomass to produce what it calls sustainable aviation fuel.
Simply Blue said sustainable aviation fuel offers a 90 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions relative to conventional jet fuel.
The fuel would be shipped from the plant in Nova Scotia by boat to distributors and airlines.
At a news conference in Halifax, Simply Blue CEO Hugh Kelly, said the project would bring "significant inward investment to Nova Scotia."
The cost of the project
In particular, it could be a boon for the forestry industry, which has been in need of new markets for wood chips since the 2020 closure of the Northern Pulp mill. Simply Blue said it would start stockpiling wood chips a couple years before starting production. Once production begins, it said the plant could employ hundreds of locals.
"But most importantly," Kelly said, "[the project] will help us all deliver and make our own impact in helping to address the climate emergency."
Simply Blue would not provide exact numbers, but said it has already spent tens of millions of dollars on engineering and feasibility work, and acquiring land.
Michael Galvin, left, Simply Blue Group's chief operating officer of hydrogen and sustainable fuels, and Hugh Kelly, CEO of Simply Blue Group, following a news conference in Halifax on Friday where they announced plans for a sustainable aviation fuel plant in Guysborough County, N.S. (Taryn Grant/CBC)
Michael Galvin, Simply Blue's chief operating officer of hydrogen and sustainable fuels, said it will cost several billion dollars to get the project off the ground.
"I'm reluctant to give the exact figure because we are still at design stage and figures change."
Galvin said money spent so far has come from Simply Blue, which is funded by shareholders. The company is now looking for investors for the project and plans to make a final investment decision in 2026.
He said no public dollars have been committed to the project to date.
If the company raises the funds and gets all the necessary permits and approvals, Galvin said production could begin in 2029.
Earlier this year, Simply Blue closed a $12-million deal with natural gas company Pieridae to take over 108 hectares of land in the community of Goldboro in Guysborough County.
Immediately adjacent to that, Simply Blue has a three-year option on an additional 197 hectares, owned by the Municipality of Guysborough. It intends to build its plant on those two parcels.
Wind and solar farms would be built next to each other in St. Mary's, about 50 kilometres away from the plant.
A dedicated transmission line would connect the two sites, and the plant would connect to Nova Scotia Power's grid for backup power and to feed back any surplus electricity.
Galvin said the amount of energy exchanged between the plant and the provincial grid would be "modest."
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