N.L. vows to chase wind-hydrogen companies for $34.5 million in overdue land fees

A car is shown driving by a valley of power lines near Come By Chance, N.L., on Saturday, June 28, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sarah Smellie

The Newfoundland and Labrador government says it is owed more than $34 million in land reserve fees by several companies that had hoped to build wind-powered hydrogen and ammonia operations in the province.

And the province intends to collect the money, Energy Minister Lloyd Parrott said in St. John’s on Thursday.

The government has been holding Crown land in reserve for six companies aiming to launch green hydrogen energy projects. In exchange, the companies were charged reserve fees worth 3.5 per cent of the land’s market value, billed every three months.

Parrott said the government is not renewing those reserves for three companies: World Energy GH2, EverWind, and Toqlukuti’k Wind and Hydrogen Ltd., which is a partnership between ABO Energy and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners.

“A combination of them not being able to move their projects forward and not paying their bills has resulted in this decision,” Parrott told reporters, adding that he felt the renewable hydrogen energy industry was at a “stalling point.”

“We’re open for business when it comes to wind-hydrogen, and wind,” he said. “But right now, we think it’s more important to bring that land back into the Crown and utilize it in other areas.”

A spokesperson for World Energy GH2 said in an email that the company was caught off guard by the decision, and that it was preparing a detailed response. The other two companies did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Newfoundland and Labrador announced in August 2023 that it was setting aside Crown land for companies behind wind-powered hydrogen and ammonia proposals. Since then, the province has sent invoices valued at $54.6 million in land reserve fees, said a news release Tuesday. As of Feb. 9, it had received $20.1 million.

The province has extended the Crown land reserve for the Exploits Valley Renewable Energy Corporation, or EVREC, which has paid its fees, the release said. It also renewed the reserve for North Atlantic, which aims to deliver its first shipments of hydrogen to Europe in 2030.

Pattern Energy withdrew its plans last year for a wind-powered hydrogen and ammonia plant along the southwest coast of Newfoundland’s Avalon Peninsula. The company said it was instead looking at a wind-only development, possibly to deliver energy to Newfoundland and Labrador’s electricity grid.
Parrott would not say Thursday if Pattern was behind in its Crown land fees, adding that its land reserve isn’t up for renewal until March.

“We are having active conversations with Pattern,” he said.

A spokesperson for Pattern told The Canadian Press in June that its land fees were up to date. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday.

World Energy GH2 pitched its wind-powered hydrogen and ammonia project in partnership with CFFI Ventures, an investment firm run by seafood magnate John Risley. CFFI announced Tuesday that it had submitted a plan to Nova Scotia’s Supreme Court to transfer its assets to a new owner, in an effort to arrange its debt and become financially sustainable.

Court documents show the company owes more than US$776 million.

Parrott said Thursday’s announcement had nothing to do with that case.

“When we realized there was outstanding debt and no progress on some of these projects, it was a long, tough decision. This isn’t personal,” he said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 19, 2026.