Mr. Chair and honourable members of the committee, thank you for the opportunity to present today.
My name is Trent Vichie, the founder and CEO of EverWind Fuels Company, Canada's most advanced green hydrogen development. Our projects in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador are supported by our first nations partners, alongside a world-class renewable resource: Canada's east coast has exceptional wind, and it's a resource we should take advantage of.
In recent years, the urgency to get off coal and other fossil fuels—to green the grid—has been building. For example, in Nova Scotia, the province is committed to ending the use of coal by 2030 and using at least 80% renewable energy by the end of the decade. Green hydrogen production and its use are crucial to meeting those targets. In fact, Nova Scotia's “Green Hydrogen Action Plan” explicitly states that it is “a complementary option to help strengthen the electricity system.” This industry can be a flexible demand user, which complements renewable power as well as hydro in the overall mix.
This is precisely what our green hydrogen projects will help us do—not to mention the thousands of jobs and billions of dollars of economic activity they'll generate. We're working hard with provincial governments right now to secure an agreement that will start greening the grid in Nova Scotia, and to develop a very large project in Newfoundland.
However, like all nascent industries, standing this up requires support at all levels of government. Across the board, the energy transition needs support for investment in battery plants, transmission—which the former speakers talked about and which we echo—and flexible power uses in green hydrogen. This is why programs like NRCan's smart renewables and electrification pathways program need to consider how green hydrogen is helping us get off coal and reach shared federal and provincial goals to secure a renewable future.
We ask parliamentarians and officials alike to ensure these programs are created with the flexibility required to hit the targets we've set to banish coal to the dustbin of history. We must be swift, decisive and flexible in our public policy actions. The global race to provide clean energy to the world is on and competition is fierce. It's critical for the federal government to determine whether Canada will be a leader or a follower in this industry.
To reiterate my earlier points, I offer three recommendations.
Allow programs like SREPs to have the flexibility to support green hydrogen.
Building out the supply chains and infrastructure required for the energy transition is going to be a monumental task. Canada needs to encourage and support the manufacture of essential items like transmission breakers and switching equipment, which has been an increasing problem. Canada could stand up manufacturing in this sector.
Governments need to take a broad view of electrification to support the greening of the grid and the decarbonizing of hard-to-electrify industries.
In conclusion, there's no getting off coal and other fossil fuels without investing in transmission and supporting flexible users like green hydrogen. Transmission is essential for decarbonization. Wind power, hydro and even solar are complementary, but transmission is needed. This is something Canada needs to grab onto with force.
Clean power is an economic opportunity for Canada. The work that we and others are doing in this industry is going to drive a lot of economic growth if it's supported. This is Canada's moment, and we must seize the opportunity.
I want to thank you for your time today, and I look forward to your questions.