canada's first offshore wind areas designated off nova scotia
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premier tim houston makes an announcement tuesday, july 29, 2025, in halifax about four designated offshore wind areas off the province's coast.
francis campbell
it was a calm tuesday throughout much of nova scotia as the provincial government touted what it calls the “greatest wind resource” in the world.
“today’s announcement marks more than just a milestone, it marks a complete turning point for our province,” an ebullient premier tim houston said in unveiling canada’s first four designated offshore wind areas off nova scotia’s coast.
“these are the first offshore wind areas designated in the entire country,” houston said. “now is the time to act boldly but we also have to act safely and sustainably.”
the areas are designated on behalf of both the federal and provincial governments in a joint-management regime, said kim doane, executive director of energy resources for the provincial energy department.
the new offshore wind areas
this map released by the government of nova scotia on july 29, 2025 shows the four designated offshore wind areas.
three of the designated areas are south of the eastern mainland portion of the province, and the other is located east of cape breton island.
doane said it is important to designate areas for wind energy to create “transparency and clarity” of where offshore wind will be developed.
“it helps de-risk the area for developers but also for other multi-users of the ocean and it helps us grow and support the supply-chain development as we go forward with this new industry,” she said.
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the province and the federal government jointly designated the areas of french bank, middle bank and sable island bank off mainland nova scotia and sydney bight off cape breton.
the square-kilometre size of the four designated areas are french bank, 3,125 square kilometres; middle bank 2,289; sable island bank, by far the largest, at 5,850 square kilometres; and sydney bight 1,285.
the total designated area is 12,549 square kilometres.
process and consultations
doane said the process began with a march 2023 regional assessment, a joint federal-provincial project to assess offshore areas that could sustain wind energy projects. the assessment concluded in january 2025 with a final report.
the final report proposed eight development areas for the two governments to consider and this past march the provincial government designated five preferred areas of the eight for public comment and discussion.
doane said there were about 150 submissions from individuals, groups and communities.
the feedback on the proposed areas contributed to the decisions to designate four areas and make the french bank and sydney bight areas slightly smaller than initially drawn.
“our consultations have been rigorous,” energy minister trevor boudreau said.
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“we’ve met with fishers, the mi’kmaq, environmental groups, municipalities, researchers and industry partners,” he said.
“that collaborative work has brought us to this milestone, designating the first offshore wind areas in canada.”
next steps
the eight wind development areas previously proposed.
nova scotia government
the next step in developing offshore wind energy is identifying the parcels within the designated areas that will be included in the first call for bids later this year.
the aim is to license five gigawatts of offshore wind by 2030. doane said there is recognition that the development will have to be phased in so that the supply chain can keep up, so the government can determine where the energy is going to go and an understanding of who the offshore development players will be.
“this is a chance for us to take charge of our future and to make nova scotia and the rest of canada more self-sufficient,” houston said.
“we don’t want to rely on the u.s. for energy like natural gas flowing through the states to reach us.”
after the licensing, doane said the licensed company has to complete pre-site and site assessments and then embark on the commercial operation of developing the wind farms, including building wind turbines and connecting the turbines within the farm and to the transmission system.
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doane said all the post-licensing construction work likely won’t begin until sometime around 2033.
the infrastructure required to bring the electricity ashore from the offshore wind farms should be jointly funded by the federal and provincial governments and industry partners, she said.
“offshore wind is the first step in exporting our energy to the rest of canada,” houston said.
“we built our livelihoods on the sea in this province and on our resources and on each other. the days of watching opportunities sail away are over. from now on we’re not exporting our people. instead we’ll be exporting clean energy and keeping our people at home because we need them. we’re going to need every man, every skill and every community to make this a reality.”
cross-country transmission cable required
to export the offshore energy to markets in the rest of canada and beyond, the premier says a cross-country transmission cable will be required, a multibillion-dollar wind west project he says the federal government has shown interest in.
“there is a lot of work ahead and we welcome it,” he said.
“this isn’t about politics, it’s about progress and it’s time to get to work. nova scotia is ready, i think the country is ready. the country hasn’t seen an opportunity like this in generations.
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“we’re asking the federal government to join us, industry to join us and work together with nova scotians to build this project and build our future.”
the premier is confident that there will be bids to build the offshore wind farms.
iain rankin, the former liberal premier and the mla for timberlea-prospect, said calling for bids for the construction of offshore wind turbines without a transmission line is putting the cart before the horse.
“these bids should be de-risked more,” rankin said. “pursuing gigawatt-scale offers before securing the capacity to move it to other markets is like building a factory without roads.
“i think it’s backwards.”
while the premier says the project positions nova scotia to “become a clean energy superpower,” rankin said he would like to see proven interest from other markets.
“i don’t buy that we would export energy to the tune of 27 per cent of canadians’ energy demand, when we see central canada, especially quebec, producing their own tenders on onshore wind.”
rankin said the liberal party is supportive of any increased renewable energy supply for the nova scotia grid.
“i would like to see a strong application to the federal government as to why the energy connection in atlantic canada is the first step to a national energy grid,” he said. “that’s the strength of how we can leverage federal funds to build that transmission line. without that, i don’t see a viable path.”
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the initial target for the next couple of months is to get some clarity around transmission and the federal government’s willingness to support the eastern energy partnership, houston said.
kim doane, executive director of energy resources for the provincial energy department, speaks at a technical briefing about the designated wind energy areas off nova scotia.
francis campbell
/
the chronicle herald
“i believe there is a lot of interest and we will continue to move that forward,” he said.
“of course there are infrastructure needs and we are expecting incredible interest from private developers,” houston said. “in this space, this is the most talked about opportunity in the world.”
after the first round of licences are awarded, four other areas identified in the january 2025 regional assessment will be revisited. they include western/emerald bank, which was the other area shortlisted in the spring but deferred for future consideration.
“emerald bank is an interesting one,” doane said.
it has fish conservation areas and it’s a location for national defence activities and operations.
“it is an area that we felt would require more upfront work in trying to understand dynamics of shipping routes,” doane said. “it added layers of complexities. we can get back to it in the future.”
most of the designated areas are at least 25 kilometres from shore with the exception of french bank, certain portions of which are closer to 20 kilometres offshore.
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