Friday, October 16, 2026
The Government of Canada has committed $100 million to advance offshore wind development in Nova Scotia.
Wind West, a Nova Scotia–led project to develop offshore wind farms and connect their electricity to customers, is a key component of the Atlantic Energy Strategy, referred to the federal Major Projects Office in September 2025. Wind West aims to generate enough zero-emissions electricity to power Nova Scotia’s entire population and export additional power beyond Nova Scotia via new transmission infrastructure.
“We will unlock Atlantic Canada’s massive potential by accelerating offshore wind development and strengthening Nova Scotia’s position as a supplier of reliable, affordable and clean energy to customers in the province and across Canada,” said Tim Hodgson, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources.
Before wind turbines can be built, companies need reliable information about the ocean and wind conditions. That is why $5 million of this $100-million commitment will go to the deployment of floating light detection and ranging (FLiDAR)–mounted buoys. By measuring offshore wind speeds and ocean conditions, these buoys will provide data to help proponents prepare for the upcoming project’s Call for Bids, which will be launched by the Canada–Nova Scotia Offshore Energy Regulator in winter 2027.
Natural Resources Canada is also providing nearly $3 million to Net Zero Atlantic to expand existing modelling to include the transmission of offshore wind power from Nova Scotia to Quebec, Ontario and beyond and conduct marine survey work to support transmission cable routing.
“Nova Scotia is no longer at the end of the energy transmission line — we are the starting point. Today’s announcement is another important step toward making Nova Scotia a global leader in offshore wind,” said Tim Houston, Premier of Nova Scotia.
Featured image: (Government of Canada)
