FAQs
Frequently Asked Questions About the Green Energy Hub
General Questions on the Green Energy Hub
The Port of Belledune is developing a Green Energy Hub aimed at transitioning from coal to renewable energy sources. This initiative seeks to establish the port as a hub for sustainable energy production and export.
The project plans to harness various renewable energy sources, including wind, solar, and biomass, to generate green hydrogen and ammonia. These products are intended for both domestic use and export.
The development of the Green Energy Hub is expected to create new employment opportunities in construction, operations, and maintenance. It aims to stimulate economic growth in the region by attracting investments and positioning the port as a leader in green energy.
The project is currently in the planning and consultation phase. Specific timelines for construction and operation will be established as the project progresses and receives necessary approvals.
By transitioning from coal to renewable energy sources, the Green Energy Hub aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and contribute to global efforts against climate change. It reflects a commitment to environmental stewardship and sustainable development.
The Port of Belledune is collaborating with various stakeholders, including government agencies, private sector partners, and Indigenous communities, to ensure the project's success and inclusivity.
The port authority plans to engage with the community through public consultations and information sessions. Details about these events and project updates will be available on the Port of Belledune's official website and through local media outlets.
Questions on Energy Types
Batteries are advanced energy storage systems designed to store electricity from renewable sources and release it when needed. Industrial battery projects can span the size of a football field or larger, housing thousands of battery modules in climate-controlled environments. Such projects require a skilled workforce for installation, operation, and maintenance, offering significant opportunities for jobs in the renewable energy sector.
Battery storage is essential for managing the intermittent nature of renewables, helping to smooth out fluctuations in supply and demand. They store excess energy during periods of high production and release it when demand exceeds supply, providing a reliable, stable energy flow. Battery technology is evolving rapidly, with advancements aimed at increasing storage capacity, improving efficiency, and reducing costs. These innovations are enabling longer-lasting batteries that can store more energy making them crucial for supporting the growing use of renewable energy and meeting future energy demands.
Battery storage is essential for managing the intermittent nature of renewables, helping to smooth out fluctuations in supply and demand. They store excess energy during periods of high production and release it when demand exceeds supply, providing a reliable, stable energy flow. Battery technology is evolving rapidly, with advancements aimed at increasing storage capacity, improving efficiency, and reducing costs. These innovations are enabling longer-lasting batteries that can store more energy making them crucial for supporting the growing use of renewable energy and meeting future energy demands.
At the Port of Belledune, we’re exploring battery storage as a key element in our Green Energy Hub. By integrating these systems with renewable energy projects, we enhance energy reliability while supporting regional clean energy initiatives.
Organic materials from plants, animals, or by-products converted into fuel for heat and electricity. It is a renewable and carbon-neutral source. Biomass can be collected from agricultural crops, forestry residues, feed by-products, algae, energy crops, and waste from sawmills, harvesting, and fallen trees. Biomass avoids clear-cutting, supports responsible forest management, and maintains healthy ecosystems while generating power.
Biomass is considered renewable because it utilizes materials that would otherwise be discarded as waste such as those destined for landfills, and relies on trees from sustainably managed forests, where replanting ensures a continuous cycle. In a sense, biomass is a free energy source, as it repurposes waste products. It is also deemed carbon-neutral because, unlike fossil fuels, trees absorb carbon dioxide as they grow and this natural carbon absorption cycle is renewed relatively quickly when trees are replanted.
In Atlantic Canada, biomass-generated electricity is commonly used in industrial operations particularly in co-generation facilities where both heat and electricity are produced and reused during manufacturing. These facilities often partner with provincial utilities to supply excess electricity to the grid.
Biomass is a particularly reliable energy source for this region supported by the Port of Belledune’s role as eastern Canada’s largest exporter of biomass handling the majority of the province’s annual production of 500,000 tonnes. It also leverages the forestry industry—a key pillar of our province’s economy.
NB Power plans to convert the Belledune Generating Station to biomass in the form of torrefied wood pellets which offer higher efficiency, durability, and compatibility for industrial energy. The converted station would contribute to the provincial energy supply while playing a key role in our Green Energy Hub by increasing demand for shipping wood pellets and biomass materials.
Hydrogen is the simplest, most abundant element in the universe. Green hydrogen, produced using renewable energy through electrolysis, is an emissions-free energy carrier. It can store and deliver energy without releasing harmful emissions.
Hydrogen rarely exists naturally in isolation, but it can be produced by extracting it from molecules like water or methane through various processes. Hydrogen can be split from oxygen in water using a process called electrolysis. This process results in hydrogen and oxygen with no harmful by-products. At the Port, our focus is exclusively on clean and sustainable green hydrogen. Electrolysers can be powered by non-emitting or renewable electricity sources such as hydro, wind, geothermal, biomass, solar, or nuclear. Electrolysis can be conducted using a device called an electrolyser.
Unlike fossil fuels, green hydrogen is not subject to depletion or long-term supply disruptions. Electrolysis enables hydrogen production directly from water when electricity is available, making it a scalable and flexible solution that aligns with renewable energy generation. By integrating with diverse energy sources, green hydrogen offers a dependable pathway to decarbonization.
The Port of Belledune is working to enable the development of a large-scale hydrogen production facility as part of our Green Energy Hub. Collaborating with local communities, Indigenous rights holders, the Government of New Brunswick, and NB Power, we’re aligning efforts to foster private sector green development. This facility will use an initial 200 MW of emissions-free green energy to produce green hydrogen as well as green ammonia and/or green methanol for export or potentially for local use by new industrial tenants at the Port as a critical component of the BPA’s reindustrialization plan. Planned expansions will enable us to meet both local and global energy needs.
The Port of Belledune is developing a Green Energy Hub aimed at transitioning from coal to renewable energy sources. This initiative seeks to establish the port as a hub for sustainable energy production and export.
The project plans to harness various renewable energy sources, including wind, solar, and biomass, to generate green hydrogen and ammonia. These products are intended for both domestic use and export.
The development of the Green Energy Hub is expected to create new employment opportunities in construction, operations, and maintenance. It aims to stimulate economic growth in the region by attracting investments and positioning the port as a leader in green energy.
The project is currently in the planning and consultation phase. Specific timelines for construction and operation will be established as the project progresses and receives necessary approvals.
By transitioning from coal to renewable energy sources, the Green Energy Hub aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and contribute to global efforts against climate change. It reflects a commitment to environmental stewardship and sustainable development.
The Port of Belledune is collaborating with various stakeholders, including government agencies, private sector partners, and Indigenous communities, to ensure the project's success and inclusivity.
The port authority plans to engage with the community through public consultations and information sessions. Details about these events and project updates will be available on the Port of Belledune's official website and through local media outlets.
Batteries are advanced energy storage systems designed to store electricity from renewable sources and release it when needed. Industrial battery projects can span the size of a football field or larger, housing thousands of battery modules in climate-controlled environments. Such projects require a skilled workforce for installation, operation, and maintenance, offering significant opportunities for jobs in the renewable energy sector.
Battery storage is essential for managing the intermittent nature of renewables, helping to smooth out fluctuations in supply and demand. They store excess energy during periods of high production and release it when demand exceeds supply, providing a reliable, stable energy flow. Battery technology is evolving rapidly, with advancements aimed at increasing storage capacity, improving efficiency, and reducing costs. These innovations are enabling longer-lasting batteries that can store more energy making them crucial for supporting the growing use of renewable energy and meeting future energy demands.
Battery storage is essential for managing the intermittent nature of renewables, helping to smooth out fluctuations in supply and demand. They store excess energy during periods of high production and release it when demand exceeds supply, providing a reliable, stable energy flow. Battery technology is evolving rapidly, with advancements aimed at increasing storage capacity, improving efficiency, and reducing costs. These innovations are enabling longer-lasting batteries that can store more energy making them crucial for supporting the growing use of renewable energy and meeting future energy demands.
At the Port of Belledune, we’re exploring battery storage as a key element in our Green Energy Hub. By integrating these systems with renewable energy projects, we enhance energy reliability while supporting regional clean energy initiatives.
Organic materials from plants, animals, or by-products converted into fuel for heat and electricity. It is a renewable and carbon-neutral source. Biomass can be collected from agricultural crops, forestry residues, feed by-products, algae, energy crops, and waste from sawmills, harvesting, and fallen trees. Biomass avoids clear-cutting, supports responsible forest management, and maintains healthy ecosystems while generating power.
Biomass is considered renewable because it utilizes materials that would otherwise be discarded as waste such as those destined for landfills, and relies on trees from sustainably managed forests, where replanting ensures a continuous cycle. In a sense, biomass is a free energy source, as it repurposes waste products. It is also deemed carbon-neutral because, unlike fossil fuels, trees absorb carbon dioxide as they grow and this natural carbon absorption cycle is renewed relatively quickly when trees are replanted.
In Atlantic Canada, biomass-generated electricity is commonly used in industrial operations particularly in co-generation facilities where both heat and electricity are produced and reused during manufacturing. These facilities often partner with provincial utilities to supply excess electricity to the grid.
Biomass is a particularly reliable energy source for this region supported by the Port of Belledune’s role as eastern Canada’s largest exporter of biomass handling the majority of the province’s annual production of 500,000 tonnes. It also leverages the forestry industry—a key pillar of our province’s economy.
NB Power plans to convert the Belledune Generating Station to biomass in the form of torrefied wood pellets which offer higher efficiency, durability, and compatibility for industrial energy. The converted station would contribute to the provincial energy supply while playing a key role in our Green Energy Hub by increasing demand for shipping wood pellets and biomass materials.
Hydrogen is the simplest, most abundant element in the universe. Green hydrogen, produced using renewable energy through electrolysis, is an emissions-free energy carrier. It can store and deliver energy without releasing harmful emissions.
Hydrogen rarely exists naturally in isolation, but it can be produced by extracting it from molecules like water or methane through various processes. Hydrogen can be split from oxygen in water using a process called electrolysis. This process results in hydrogen and oxygen with no harmful by-products. At the Port, our focus is exclusively on clean and sustainable green hydrogen. Electrolysers can be powered by non-emitting or renewable electricity sources such as hydro, wind, geothermal, biomass, solar, or nuclear. Electrolysis can be conducted using a device called an electrolyser.
Unlike fossil fuels, green hydrogen is not subject to depletion or long-term supply disruptions. Electrolysis enables hydrogen production directly from water when electricity is available, making it a scalable and flexible solution that aligns with renewable energy generation. By integrating with diverse energy sources, green hydrogen offers a dependable pathway to decarbonization.
The Port of Belledune is working to enable the development of a large-scale hydrogen production facility as part of our Green Energy Hub. Collaborating with local communities, Indigenous rights holders, the Government of New Brunswick, and NB Power, we’re aligning efforts to foster private sector green development. This facility will use an initial 200 MW of emissions-free green energy to produce green hydrogen as well as green ammonia and/or green methanol for export or potentially for local use by new industrial tenants at the Port as a critical component of the BPA’s reindustrialization plan. Planned expansions will enable us to meet both local and global energy needs.