John Risley says delay in wind-hydrogen plan is no cause for alarm

The chairman of World Energy GH2 says residents of Newfoundland and Labrador shouldn't be concerned abouta delay in the corporation's proposal for wind energy production in western Newfoundland.

"This is a brand new industry, and there isn't a project like thisin Canada. So you can imagine the government is wanting to move cautiouslyand we completely understand that," John Risleytold CBCNews.

A verdict for World Energy GH2's proposal to build at least 328 wind turbines on the Port au Port Peninsula and Codroy Valleyalong with ahydrogen-ammonia plant was put on hold Wednesday, as EnvironmentMinister Bernard Davis told the company to provide more information on a series of potential impacts.

In a letter to the company, Davis said the areas that require information includewater use and water monitoring, assessing the potential and cumulative effects of the project, emergency and contingency plans.

"These are all, in our view, completely legitimate questions. And we're going to work to answer them as comprehensively as we can." Risley said Wednesday.

"The government in itsreview has decided that, well, 'we'd like a bit more information here and a bit more information there.' And that's not, we don't think that's particularly unusual.

"Nobody should read anything into it other than exactly what the government is saying."

The provincial government had sent itself a deadline ofTuesday to announce an environmental decision on World Energy GH2's bid.

The request for more information will keep the project from being greenlighted for some time. Any amendments that are submitted will require a 50-day public input period, plus an additional two to three weeks after that.

Risley said that can be a problem in an industry like hydrogen and wind production where time and money is of the essence as the market becomes more and more competitive butWorld Energy GH2 isready to help the government any wayit can.

WATCH | This professor says the demand for more information on wind turbine project is good move:

Demand for more details on wind turbine project is a good move: prof

11 months ago

Duration 0:25

Camille Ouellet-Dallaire, who teaches at Memorials Grenfell Campus in Corner Brook, says Newfoundland and Labradors deferral of a decision shows World Energy GH2 was lacking key details about the project. Ouellet-Dallaire has raised concerns about the lengthy environmental assessment, the timeline in which the public had to respond to it, and full details of how the company would address environmental issues.

"I don't think anybody's suggesting it's going to take another year, but it's certainly going to take another couple of months," he said.

Risley acknowledged that the delay will give critics more time to put the proposal under the microscope but he said the company has done work to win over local residents, some of whom have vocally opposed the prospect of turbines in their midst.

"We are going to help the province move to a zero-emissions state, and that should be something that the entire province is pulling for. Do some people want this to happen in somebody else's backyard and not theirs? Yeah, we get that," he said.

"We want this to be a very positive force for the Newfoundland economy. We understand our responsibility to earn a social license, and you don't do that overnight."

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