The province is on track to soon announce who’s moving on to the second phase in the wind-hydrogen Crown land sweepstakes.

Energy Minister Andrew Parsons expects decisions in late June or early July, but says there are too many moving parts to specify an exact date.

“We’re dealing with a fairness advisor, we’re dealing with legal, we’re dealing with environment, we’re dealing with Crown Lands, we’re dealing with proponents, we’re dealing with advocacy, we’re dealing with interested citizens. Just the sheer amount of questions and emails I get on this, it’s hard to maintain the pace that we want to, that our department has been setting.”

Province Needs to Double Electricity Output by 2032: NL Hydro

Meanwhile, NL Hydro CEO Jennifer Williams told the Energy NL convention that the province will need to double its electricity output by 2032 in order to meet anticipated demand.

She told reporters the current system is not big enough to accommodate the massive shift to electric over the next decade, adding she fully expects hydrogren to be a key consideration.

“We’re going to have to make a series of decisions to double the electricity system over time. But there’s going to be more decisions that are going to be made into the future. And I fully expect that hydriogen will play role in the ability to supply electricity—so it’s not today, but I fully believe it will have to play a role in the future.”

The Energy NL convention continues at the St. John’s convention centre today.