A group which advocates for people and the planet has numerous concerns with government approval of the World Energy GH2 project on the Port au Port Peninsula and in the Codroy Valley.

The company is building hundreds of windmills with accompanying infrastructure, but some in the region aren’t happy with the prospect. The final product, ammonia, will be shipped abroad. Similar projects have been proposed for central Newfoundland and the Burin Peninsula.

The Council of Canadians, Avalon Chapter, says such massive projects are neither green nor economically beneficial. Spokesperson Yvonne Earle calls it our “next Muskrat Falls.”

They’re concerned about the quality of water on the Port au Port Peninsula and other potential environmental fallout.

It’s expected that jobs will be plentiful during the construction phase, but she doesn’t see long-term economic benefit.

She says there will be jobs in the plant but that it’s misleading to expect the project to create thousands—or even hundreds—of long-term jobs.

A group known as Codroy Valley United calls the provincial government’s decision to release World Energy GH2’s hydrogen project powered by wind energy a “severe misstep” without “substantial data on mitigation, monitoring and adherence to outlined requirements.”

The group charges that the EIS progress was rushed, and community engagement was “inadequate.”

The group is especially concerned because Codroy Valley Site “C” was not initially part of the Environmental Assessment Registration, but was abruptly introduced as the Codroy Wind Farm proposal just before the EIS was published last August.

That, according to Codroy Valley United, “exemplifies the rushed nature” of the project and the deficiency in the public consultation process.