Plans for an energy hub that would produce various forms of hydrogen but also connect to a controversial pipeline took another step Wednesday as the province signed a memorandum of understanding with McLeod Lake Indian Band.
Plans also call for a straddle plant reportedly worth $2 billion that would recover and refine natural gas products from liquid waste that would have otherwise be burned off. The plant would be connected through existing pipelines to the Trans-Canada Energy’s Coastal GasLink, which has drawn opposition from various groups, including members of the Wetʼsuwetʼen First Nation in the Burns Lake area.“Three kilometres away, is that is also going to be connected to the system,” he said.
When media asked Eby about the use of Coastal GasLink, he framed his position as the middle between those who oppose all fossil fuel developments and those who want to approve everything. Eby, who rarely misses an opportunity to promote hydrogen, said the hub, if fully developed, would be one of the largest Indigenous-owned energy projects in Canada at $7 billion with the potential to create “significant” amounts of green hydrogen.