QUESTION PERIOD — Employment and Social Development
Green Hydrogen Project
February 29, 2024
My question is to the Government Representative in the Senate. Senator Gold, yesterday the Minister of Labour and Seniors, Seamus O’Regan, announced Canada’s first commercial-scale green hydrogen and ammonia facility in Newfoundland and Labrador. World Energy GH2’s project will be receiving a federal loan in the amount of $128 million. While the project is still going through the impact assessment process from the province, it seems to be a positive investment in renewable energy and a step toward reaching Canada’s net-zero emissions goal by 2050. What does the government expect the impact of this project to be on the local economy?
Thank you for your question, senator. This is a real opportunity both for Newfoundland and Labrador and for Canada, because the world is looking for renewable energy. That’s where research is going, that’s where the markets are going, and, frankly, that’s where the money is going.
The government anticipates that the offshore wind industry will be worth approximately $1 trillion by 2040. Projects such as this will ensure that workers in Newfoundland and Labrador share in their profits. More specifically, it’s my understanding that World Energy GH2 expects the first phase of the project to create 2,200 direct construction jobs, 400 operations jobs and a further 4,200 indirect jobs.
Senator Gold, the money from the government to support this project is coming from a loan program called a credit facility loan agreement. What are the details of this loan agreement, including what conditions have to be met, and what will the repayment schedule look like over the coming years?
Colleagues may know this loan facility is a $128-million credit facility. It’s a type of pre-arranged loan which allows a borrower to access money on an ongoing basis rather than applying for a whole new loan during the cycles. I don’t have the details of this agreement. It was signed by Export Development Canada.
