A consortium of industry and government partners announced the development of Canada’s first wind-hydrogen village demonstration – the Prince Edward Island (PEI) Wind-Hydrogen Village Project.
Hydrogenics Corporation (Nasdaq: HYGS; TSX: HYG), and Prince Edward Island Energy Corporation will lead the consortium, which will demonstrate, in real-life and in real-time, how wind energy and hydrogen technologies can work together to offer clean and sustainable energy solutions across a wide range of applications. The $10.3 million project is receiving an investment of $5.1 million through the Hydrogen Early Adopters (h2EA) program of Technology Partnerships Canada. The Government of Prince Edward Island will invest $2.9 million in the three-year project. This includes $2.5 million in earnings from the North Cape Wind Farm and $425,000 from Prince Edward Island Business Development.
The village is at the Atlantic Wind Test Site, Canada’s only national wind test site. The island currently draws more than 5% of its electricity from the site.
“This next logical step – marrying up wind with hydrogen as a means of storing energy – has real potential to further reduce dependence on imported power, promote local economic development and promote environmental sustainability. PEI’s strong wind regime, geographic size, political will, skilled work force and committed academic community make PEI a perfect location to demonstrate and deploy wind-hydrogen technologies. We believe this initiative will position PEI to become a model for future wind-hydrogen deployments globally, particularly for island and off-grid communities,” commented Randall MacEwen, Vice President of Hydrogenics Corporation.
Over the course of the three years, the Prince Edward Island (PEI) Wind- Hydrogen Village Project will demonstrate solutions for a range of energy applications, including the installation of a hydrogen energy station, a hydrogen storage depot, and a wind-hydrogen and wind-diesel integrated control system to power the North Cape Interpretive Centre Complex, the Atlantic Wind Test Site, as well as other homes and buildings in the North Cape area.
Subsequent phases are expected to include a hydrogen refueling station in Charlottetown to support the refuelling needs of up to three full-service hydrogen shuttle buses used in Charlottetown and the Charlottetown-North Cape corridor, as well as the deployment of fuel cell utility vehicles and the expansion of the wind-hydrogen village to provide energy for additional buildings and facilities, including at least one farm operation. The final phase of the project is expected to involve the introduction of a hydrogen- powered tour boat.
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