I am responding to the article “Save Our Water” by Gord Follett which appeared in the February edition. I have no political connections, my background is engineering and my comments are mainly technical.

I have long enjoyed Mr. Follett on his TV show, and respect his knowledge of fishing and hunting in NL. However I find this article to be primarily an emotional rant not based on research and drawing mostly incorrect conclusions, which is being launched toward readers, with the prediction that should a green hydrogen wind turbine development be established in NL, the province will become something like the next Sahara.

There is very little factual information provided in the article other than that green hydrogen production requires “massive amounts of fresh water’. Actually, according to the research, there are three primary processes for producing hydrogen, and while there is still development work going on presently, the water requirement is 12 to 30 litres per kilogram of hydrogen produced.

The water required to produce hydrogen does not have to be fresh water. Sea water can be used although it must be desalinated. This option process would produce salt as a byproduct. I believe the areas under consideration for wind powered hydrogen production are within reasonable distance of salt water. Surely Mr. Follett would not worry whether there is sufficient water in the Gulf of St. Lawrence or the Atlantic Ocean to provide for these installations.
It should be noted that internal combustion engines currently used in most of our vehicles can easily be converted to burn hydrogen, and that burning hydrogen is virtually pollution free and is reversible – hydrogen unites with oxygen to produce water. So no water is actually removed from the earth, it is simply moved from where it was, to where it is burned. Hydrogen fuel will be much more practical than electricity for all road travel other than shorter distances.
There is quite a lot of research being done presently in China and other parts of Asia on offshore wind powered production of hydrogen using sea water, and some also has been done in Alberta specifically on the water volume required for hydrogen production. Much of this is available on the internet if Mr. Follett cares to look.

Yes there are some issues to be resolved with respect to these proposed new developments, but when I come home every year, leave Port aux Basques and see the long range mountains off on the right, I wonder why I do not also see an endless line of windmills along the top for as many miles as possible. There is no habitation there so neither man nor beast would be harmed. It is nearly always windy, so many megawatts of power could be being produced there.

Such power, whether for hydrogen to fuel our cars and trucks, hydrogen as a export, or to simply provide power for the grid at reasonable cost, would be very beneficial to the province and all its inhabitants.

B. Rendell (from Corner Brook)
Miramichi, NB