Suncor to Divest Wind, Solar Assets in Favor of Hydrogen, Renewable Fuels

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--For years, Canadian oil sands producer Suncor Energy Incorporated (NYSE:SU) has been investing in wind and solar facilities throughout Canada, constructing eight wind power projects in Saskatchewan, Alberta and Ontario. But now, the company is pivoting away from renewable power in favor of hydrogen and renewable fuels production.

Suncor said it will divest its wind and solar assets. Industrial Info is tracking seven wind and solar projects by Suncor, worth $1.28 billion. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Power Project Database can click here for a list of detailed project reports.

The move will help "accelerate progress towards its objective to be a net-zero company by 2050," according to a company press release. The goal comes in part from regulatory pressures. Canada's recently announced Emissions Reduction Plan aims to cut oil and gas emissions by 42% from current levels by 2030. According to Reuters, oil and gas is Canada's highest-polluting sector, accounting for 26% of the country's total emissions.

Suncor also is one of six companies of the Oil Sands Pathways to Net Zero Alliance, which accounts for 90% of Alberta's oil sands production. The group is targeting a 32% reduction in emissions by 2030 and is aiming for net-zero emissions by 2050.

Among Suncor's goals is to replace coke-fired boilers with lower-emission cogeneration units and "accelerating commercial-scale deployment of carbon capture technology." To this end, Suncor is underway with the addition of an 800-megawatt (MW) cogeneration unit at its base plant in Fort McMurray, Alberta. Not only will the facility cut carbon emissions, but also sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and particulate matter as well as reducing freshwater usage by 35%. The natural gas-fired cogeneration unit is replacing outdated coal-fired boilers. Construction kicked off in late 2019 and is expected to be completed in 2024. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Metals & Minerals Project Database can click here for the detailed report.

Suncor also is replacing three coke-fired boilers with two natural gas-fired cogeneration units at another Alberta location, which is expected to wrap up next year. Subscribers can click here for the report.

Among the company's hydrogen projects is a partnership with ATCO (Calgary) for a blue hydrogen plant. Blue hydrogen is produced from natural gas with carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology. Although the project is still some years away from starting, Suncor and ATCO are performing preliminary design work on the facility, with the aim to produce more than 300,000 tons per year of blue hydrogen, sequestering the carbon dioxide produced. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Chemical Processing Project Database can click here for the report.

As Suncor seeks to make its environmental footprint greener, it is not giving up its bread-and-butter business of oil sands production. The company is expanding its Mildred Lake North oil sands mine in Alberta to sustain bitumen production levels and extend the life of the mine by 14 years. The 7,500-ton-per-year mine is on track to be depleted in coming years, but the extension project is scheduled to be completed in the first half of 2025. If the expansion project (MLX-West) proves economically successful, a second extension (MLX-East) could be undertaken in the eastern section of the mine. Subscribers can click here for the MLX-West project and here for MLX-East.

Suncor also is in the planning stage for expansions at its Lewis and Firebag oil sands facilities in Alberta. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Production Project Database can click here for related project reports.

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