Four areas across Nova Scotia will be prepared for offshore wind energy, the first in the country.
In a joint statement, the province and the Government of Canada said that the four areas are French Bank, Middle Bank, Sable Island Bank — off the mainland — and Sydney Bight — off Cape Breton.
The governments noted that this is a “key step” to develop the offshore wind industry that will help both the province and the country. It is poised to create jobs and help communities transition to cleaner, sustainable energy.
The statement does not include how much the projects could cost or if any levels of government are providing funding.
“With the right infrastructure, we’ll have the opportunity to send our wind west to power other parts of Canada,” Premier Tim Houston said in a statement, hinting at his government’s ambitions to create an energy corridor. “By becoming an energy exporter, we can secure long-term prosperity for Nova Scotians.”
This comes after the public was asked for feedback on five proposed sites in the spring. According to the government, this factored into the decisions in making the French Bank and Sydney Bight areas slightly smaller.
The statement goes on to say that officials will work to choose land within the areas to be included in bids later this year. One of the areas shortlisted, Western/Emerald Bank, will be revisited after licences are handed out.
NDP Environment Critic Lisa Lachance said that the efforts are important to help Nova Scotians.
“Across our province Nova Scotians are dealing with unaffordable power bills, and they’re looking for real solutions that help lower their costs. Investment in offshore wind is a key opportunity to deliver affordable, clean, reliable, renewable energy,” she said in a statement. “We need to make sure these projects benefit everyday Nova Scotians, lower bills, and continue to include input from those most impacted by offshore development.”
The ultimate goal is to licence five gigawatts of offshore wind by 2030, enough to power hundreds of thousands of homes.
Canada’s first four offshore wind energy areas (Province of Nova Scotia)
Houston pushing ambitious Wind West project
This movement comes after Nova Scotia’s premier took to social media after meeting with Prime Minister Mark Carney in early June, detailing how he wants to see the province as a clean energy powerhouse.
In that video, Houston said that Nova Scotia is on the edge of an energy breakthrough, promising that his government is in the process of licensing some offshore energy agreements.
According to the premier, the province only uses about 2.4 gigawatts of energy at peak demand, meaning the remaining energy could be used elsewhere in the country. If the province were to harness more wind fields, it has the potential to generate 66 gigawatts of energy, the premier noted.
“You can’t export clean power without a way to move it,” he said. “We need a cable, ideally along a national energy corridor to deliver that wind energy westward across Canada — we call it Wind West.”
If this is done, Houston alleges this can cover up to 27 per cent of Canada’s electricity needs.