Latest news with #megaprojects
CBC
12-06-2025
- Business
- CBC
Some N.L. hydrogen companies behind in bills as industry hype 'boils off'
Newfoundland and Labrador is owed millions of dollars in fees from green energy companies, underlining growing doubts about whether promises of major projects and multi-billion dollar investments will pan out. Six companies are vying to create new operations in the province that would use wind energy to produce hydrogen for exports overseas. Figures obtained by The Canadian Press reveal some owe a collective total of $13.7-million in fees due in 2024 for the use of Crown land. Russell Williams, an associate political science professor at Memorial University in St. John's, said he's not surprised. "I think it highlights the extent to which the public should be skeptical about megaprojects, and about governments getting very carried away, very early, with the idea that there are huge benefits from these kinds of natural resource developments," said Williams. However, the province insists the money will be collected. "The provincial government has not written off any outstanding Crown land reserve fees and expects to collect all revenue owing for these fees," said an emailed statement from Steve Crocker, minister of industry, energy and technology. The industry began paying the fees after the provincial government invited companies to bid on Crown land to use for wind energy projects in December 2022. By paying the fees, the companies have the option to lease the land if they choose to move forward with projects. But it's not clear which developments will proceed, even though the companies have now reserved roughly 3,944 square kilometres of Crown land. Executives from the six companies told an energy conference in St. John's last week that it's been tough to find buyers on the overseas market to make their projects viable. Some companies said they were considering other options in the meantime, including an anticipated call for renewable energy for the local grid in Newfoundland and Labrador. "In 2021, 2022 the world thought everything was going to be running on hydrogen," Karlis Povisils, with Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, told reporters during the conference. "I think the hype has boiled off, and that's a healthy thing. The players that are left are the ones that are serious and committed." The companies owed a collective total of about $22.1-million in Crown land reserve fees for 2024, Crocker said. The province collected just $8.4 million, according to figures obtained through access to information legislation. In 2023, the province received $5,491,316 in Crown land reserve fees — exactly the amount it was owed, the department confirmed. Only three of the six companies confirmed to the Canadian Press their fees were up to date: North Atlantic, Pattern Energy, and the Exploits Valley Renewable Energy Corporation, or EVREC. Other companies weren't as clear. A spokesperson for World Energy GH2, which proposed a $16-billion wind-powered hydrogen operation in western Newfoundland, said the company has paid "millions" in Crown land reserve fees. She did not confirm if it had paid all of its fees for 2024. "We continue to reserve Crown lands, and incur fees related to our reservation, and will continue to service our obligations," Laura Barron said in an email. A spokesperson for EverWind, which has proposed wind-to-hydrogen projects in Newfoundland and Nova Scotia, said the company has paid $5.6-million in reserve fees, "but we cannot comment further as we are in ongoing land reservation discussions with the province." EverWind Fuels is one of two companies that have asked the province to reduce the amount of land held in reserve for its proposed development. Using the reduced land reserve, the company would have owed more than $8-million in 2024. ABO Energy, which is working with Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners on a project in eastern Newfoundland, has also reduced its Crown land reserve. The company said it is working with the government "to ensure compliance" with reserve fee conditions. "And indeed, we are working to create the ecosystem that this nascent industry demands," said spokesperson Heidi Kirby in an email. Tom Cooper, a business professor at Memorial University, said forgoing the land fees could be a way for the province to fund the developments, "without handing over hard cash." Williams added that the fees are quite small compared to the cost of some of the projects. He worries the provincial government undervalued its resources and got swept up in "pie-in-the-sky" promises of megaprojects that would produce jobs. "One of the things that always gets lost in those calculations is the public interest," Williams said. "The public interest here is what kind of royalties and revenues was the province going to get ... and it looks like, unless something changes, the benefits are tiny and in arrears."
CBC
12-06-2025
- Business
- CBC
N.L. optimistic about future of workforce despite barriers, high unemployment
Newfoundland and Labrador had the highest unemployment rate in Canada in April 2025 — 9.8 per cent — but the provincial government is not discouraged with megaprojects like Bay du Nord and the Churchill Falls MOU on the horizon. Premier John Hogan spoke with workforce leaders at a jobs forum in St. John's on Wednesday. He said Newfoundland and Labrador is leading the country on projects deemed "nation building" by Prime Minister Mark Carney. "To be honest with you, we already are the envy of the world," Hogan said. According to the federal government, nation-building projects would "make a significant contribution to Canada's prosperity" and "advance national security, economic security, defence security and national autonomy through the increased production of energy and goods, and the improved movement of goods, services and people throughout Canada." Examples include highways, railways, ports, airports, pipelines, critical minerals, mines, nuclear facilities and electrical transmission projects. Hogan said Newfoundland and Labrador is currently ahead of other provinces, after hearing their pitches during a first ministers' meeting in Saskatchewan last week. "When the media asked the premiers and the prime minister questions after we were done our meeting, they said 'Well who's going to build the pipeline?' And Premier Smith of Alberta said 'Well we don't know that yet,'" Hogan said. "'Who's going to build the transmission lines in Nova Scotia that you're talking about,' and they said 'Well, we don't know that yet either.'" In contrast, Hogan said, Newfoundland and Labrador's plans are no longer concepts, but industry professionals are more concerned about workforce capacity and infrastructure. For example, Mining Industry N.L. executive director Amanda McCallum told reporters they will need 1,000 workers to help with construction or mine operations on the Baie Verte Peninsula. She's not sure where all the workers will stay. "The Baie Verte Peninsula, in the very near term, is certainly a pressure point," McCallum said. "When you're talking about having to increase a workforce, there's housing requirements, there's social supports, there's services." McCallum said Mining Industry N.L. went into the jobs forum with the intent to be heard. "It's not just jobs, it's ensuring that people have a nice, safe community to work in, that work-life balance," she said. The Association for New Canadians also voiced its concerns as newcomers often face additional barriers when trying to enter the workforce. "The main challenge would be language. [The] language barrier is a common challenge for newcomers who come to the province," said Khalid Al-Hariri, the ANC's acting director of employment services. Jobs, Immigration and Growth Minister Gerry Byrne hosted the forum on Wednesday. He said improving the province's workforce is a priority. "There's a commonality with attracting a workforce, developing skills within the workforce, and creating that highly, highly dignified workplace. That's a goal for us all," Byrne said.
CTV News
12-06-2025
- Business
- CTV News
Some Newfoundland hydrogen companies behind in bills as industry hype ‘boils off'
Hydrogen storage tanks are visible at the Iberdrola green hydrogen plant in Puertollano, Spain, on March 28, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Bernat Armangue ST. JOHN'S — Newfoundland and Labrador is owed millions of dollars in fees from green energy companies, underlining growing doubts about whether promises of major projects and multi-billion dollar investments will pan out. Six companies are vying to create new operations in the province that would use wind energy to produce hydrogen for exports overseas. Figures obtained by The Canadian Press reveal some owe a collective total of $13.7 million in fees due in 2024 for the use of Crown land. Russell Williams, an associate political science professor at Memorial University in St. John's, N.L., said he's not surprised the companies have land fees outstanding. 'I think it highlights the extent to which the public should be skeptical about megaprojects, and about governments getting very carried away, very early, with the idea that there are huge benefits from these kinds of natural resource developments,' Williams said in a recent interview. However, the province insists the money will be collected. 'The provincial government has not written off any outstanding Crown land reserve fees and expects to collect all revenue owing for these fees,' said an emailed statement from Steve Crocker, minister of industry, energy and technology. The industry began paying the fees after the provincial government invited companies to bid on Crown land to use for wind energy projects in December 2022. By paying the fees, the companies have the option to lease the land if they choose to move forward with projects. But it's not clear which developments will proceed even though the companies have now reserved roughly 3,944 square kilometres of Crown land. Executives from the six companies told an energy conference in St. John's, N.L., last week that it's been tough to find buyers on the overseas market to make their projects viable. Some companies said they were considering other options in the meantime, including an anticipated call for renewable energy for the local grid in Newfoundland and Labrador. 'In 2021, 2022 the world thought everything was going to be running on hydrogen,' Karlis Povisils, with Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, told reporters during the conference. 'I think the hype has boiled off, and that's a healthy thing. The players that are left are the ones that are serious and committed.' The companies owed a collective total of about $22.1 million in Crown land reserve fees for 2024, Crocker said. The province collected just $8.4 million, according to figures obtained through access to information legislation. In 2023, the province received $5,491,316 in Crown land reserve fees — exactly the amount it was owed, the department confirmed. Only three of the six companies confirmed to the Canadian Press their fees were up to date: North Atlantic, Pattern Energy, and the Exploits Valley Renewable Energy Corporation, or EVREC. Other companies weren't as clear. A spokesperson for World Energy GH2, which proposed a $16-billion wind-powered hydrogen operation in western Newfoundland, said the company has paid 'millions' in Crown land reserve fees. She did not confirm if it had paid all of its fees for 2024. 'We continue to reserve Crown lands, and incur fees related to our reservation, and will continue to service our obligations,' Laura Barron said in an email. A spokesperson for EverWind, which has proposed wind-to-hydrogen projects in Newfoundland and Nova Scotia, said the company has paid $5.6 million in reserve fees, 'but we cannot comment further as we are in ongoing land reservation discussions with the province.' EverWind Fuels is one of two companies that have asked the province to reduce the amount of land held in reserve for its proposed development. Using the reduced land reserve, the company would have owed more than $8 million in 2024. ABO Energy, which is working with Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners on a project in eastern Newfoundland, has also reduced its Crown land reserve. The company said it is working with the government 'to ensure compliance' with reserve fee conditions. 'And indeed, we are working to create the ecosystem that this nascent industry demands,' said spokesperson Heidi Kirby in an email. Tom Cooper, a business professor at Memorial University, said forgoing the land fees could be a way for the province to fund the developments, 'without handing over hard cash.' Williams added that the fees are quite small compared to the cost of some of the projects. He worries the provincial government undervalued its resources and got swept up in 'pie-in-the-sky' promises of megaprojects that would produce jobs. 'One of the things that always gets lost in those calculations is the public interest,' Williams said. 'The public interest here is what kind of royalties and revenues was the province going to get ... and it looks like, unless something changes, the benefits are tiny and in arrears.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 12, 2025. Sarah Smellie, The Canadian Press
Globe and Mail
09-06-2025
- Business
- Globe and Mail
Can Canada still get things built? Yes, we can
Last week, I wrote about how quickly Canada used to build megaprojects. The National Dream went from first spike to Last Spike in three-and-a-half years. Toronto and Montreal built the first lines of their subway systems in four-and-a-half years. And Expo 67 also went from conception to completion in four-and-a-half years, and a mere 44 months from first shovel to opening day. I contrasted that record with those of recent projects, notably in public transit, that today take far longer to build and cost many times more, even accounting for inflation. For example, the Ontario Line in Toronto has an estimated price tag of more than $1-billion a kilometre – roughly 10 times the cost of building a Toronto subway line from the 1950s to the 1990s. And I wrote about the mayor of Longueuil, Que., who took to TikTok to express her exasperation at how mega-problems beset even micro-projects: New traffic lights are $1-million, and a speed bump – a lump of asphalt – clocks in at $10,000. Is negative productivity – paying more, getting less, doing it more slowly – the best we can hope for? Does anyone know how to build any more? Yes, we do. There's an entire world of examples of infrastructure that are as good as or better than Canada's, built quickly, and at a fraction of the cost. These cases are almost all outside the English-speaking world. But there are also Canadian examples of infrastructure as good as or better than the rest of the country's, built relatively quickly and cheaply. The School of Cities at the University of Toronto recently put out a brief comparing transit construction costs in Ontario and the rest of the developed world. Its findings echo those of a report published five years ago by the Residential and Civil Construction Alliance of Ontario. They are sobering reads. From Spain to Finland, Turkey to Italy and South Korea to France, subways and other high-level transit are being built for the low prices that used to be the norm in Canada more than a generation ago. Other countries are paying far less, which means that they can afford to build far more. We are paying more, leaving us only able to afford to build much, much less. Take Toronto's Finch West LRT, which is being financed and overseen by Ontario and built by the private sector, and compare it with new subway lines in Finland, Turkey, South Korea and Italy. The latter are underground, high-capacity, heavy rail; Finch is light, surface rail. The foreign projects should cost several times more per kilometre than Finch. In fact, they cost about half as much. Examples such as this abound across Europe and Asia. But they also exist in Canada. Here are three: In 2007, Montreal completed an extension of the Metro's Orange Line. It's 5.2 kilometres long and entirely underground. There were cost overruns, but in hindsight the project was a relative bargain: The price was $143.3-million a kilometre. Factor in inflation and that's $210-million a kilometre today. That's on par with costs in Europe and Asia, or 20th-century Canada. It's also less than the Finch LRT, even though Montreal's project is underground, higher capacity and passes under a river. Or consider Vancouver's Canada Line, part of the SkyTrain network. Opened in 2009, it's 19.2 kilometres long and almost half is below ground. It was built in four years for $2.05-billion. Taking inflation into account, that's just $154-million a kilometre – roughly half the cost of the Finch LRT, and a fraction of the price for the Ontario Line, which Canada Line is similar to. It's also a third of the cost of Vancouver's own under-construction Broadway Subway. Then there's Montreal's Réseau express métropolitain, or REM. It involves building an entire mass-transit system – 67 kilometres of track and 26 stations – in a short period of time. The first phase, between downtown and Brossard on Montreal's South Shore, opened in 2023. Most of the rest of the network is supposed to open in the fall. It runs on elevated tracks, similar to SkyTrain, except for a portion through the centre of the city that is tunnelled. The project has been dogged by criticism, and it is behind schedule and over budget. It was originally supposed to cost $7-billion, though last fall Quebec's Auditor-General estimated that the final tally would be $9.4-billion. But everything is relative: At $9.4-billion, the REM would cost just $140-million a kilometre. Even if we assume more cost overruns on the nearly complete project – let's be hyper-pessimistic and inflate the price by another third – that's still less than $200-million a kilometre. That's comparable to the cost of similar transit projects in Europe and Asia, and a fraction of the cost of recent Canadian projects. Or to look at it this way: If Toronto's Scarborough Subway and Yonge North Subway Extension were being built at REM pricing, Ontario could afford to build four of each of them. And if the Ontario Line were delivered at the REM's price, Queen's Park's existing budget would be sufficient to finance five – yeah, five – Ontario Lines.
Arabian Business
04-06-2025
- Business
- Arabian Business
Oman real estate market
Qatar and Kuwait are lagging behind as the UAE and Saudi Arabia corner the Gulf region's share of mega real estate projects in the pipeline, according to a new CBRE report
