The Government of Canada and the Province of Nova Scotia have allotted the first four offshore wind energy areas in Canada. The four areas are French Bank, Middle Bank, and Sable Island Bank off mainland Nova Scotia and Sydney Bight off Cape Breton. The Canada-Nova Scotia offshore area is jointly managed by the federal and provincial governments through the Canada-Nova Scotia accord acts.
This is a key step in developing the offshore wind industry that will provide long-term energy security. The next step is identifying the parcels within the designated areas that will be included in the first call for bids later this year. This competitive licensing process inviting private companies wanting to build offshore wind projects will be managed by the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Energy Regulator. The aim is to license 5 GW of offshore wind by 2030.
The designation follows public feedback that was taken in the spring on five proposed areas. Feedback received contributed to the decision to designate four areas and to slightly reduce the size of the French Bank and Sydney Bight areas. Additionally, once the initial round of licenses are awarded, four other areas identified earlier in the January 2025 regional assessment of offshore wind development will be revisited. Among them is Western/Emerald Bank, which was also one of the areas shortlisted in the spring.
REGlobal’s Views: Canada, which currently relies on hydropower for more than half of its energy, has a huge untapped potential for offshore wind development particularly in the Nova Scotia area. Unfortunately, the country severely lags behind its neighbor, the United States, and the European countries in the offshore wind space and has witnessed very little progress both on the policy as well as project deployment fronts. With the success of these first licenses, Canada can massively diversify its energy basket with offshore wind and secure its future energy supply.
