The Government of Canada has committed CAD 100 million (approximately EUR 63 million) to advance offshore wind development in Nova Scotia, supporting preparations for the province’s Wind West initiative and its plans to generate electricity for domestic use and export to other Canadian provinces.
Announced by Natural Resources Canada on 15 October, the funding will support early-stage development activities, including offshore wind resource assessment and studies into the transmission infrastructure needed to deliver power from Nova Scotia to markets elsewhere in Canada.
Of the total commitment, CAD 5 million (approx. EUR 3 million) will fund the deployment of floating LiDAR (FLiDAR) buoys to measure offshore wind speeds and ocean conditions. The data will help developers prepare bids for the upcoming offshore wind Call for Bids, which the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Energy Regulator (CNSOER) plans to launch in winter 2027.
Natural Resources Canada is also providing nearly CAD 3 million (approx. EUR 1.9 million) to Net Zero Atlantic to expand electricity market modelling to include potential transmission of offshore wind power from Nova Scotia to Quebec, Ontario and beyond. The funding will also support marine surveys to inform the routing of transmission cables.
“Nova Scotia’s world-class wind and highly skilled offshore workforce, developed through the legacy of offshore oil and gas, give Canada a competitive advantage in the potentially $1-trillion global offshore wind market — an advantage we are determined to seize”, said Tim Hodgson, Canada’s Minister of Energy and Natural Resources.
“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.”
Wind West is a Nova Scotia-led initiative that aims to develop offshore wind farms and the infrastructure needed to connect their electricity to customers. The plan envisages generating enough zero-emissions electricity to meet the province’s needs while enabling additional power exports through new transmission links.
The initiative forms part of the federal Atlantic Energy Strategy, referred to the federal Major Projects Office in September 2025, which seeks to strengthen electricity connections across the region and make use of its offshore and onshore wind, nuclear and hydropower resources.
Canada is currently preparing its first offshore wind leasing round in the waters off Nova Scotia. The CNSOER opened the pre-qualification process in October 2025 and announced seven companies and consortia that had qualified in June 2026: DEME Concessions Wind, Jan De Nul, Northland Power, Ming Yang Smart Energy, Simply Blue Energy, and two consortia involving DP Energy, Enterprize Energy Atlantic, Nova East Wind and SBM Renewables, and Hanwha Ocean and Q ENERGY France.
Federal Bill C-49 enabled the development of offshore renewable energy in Atlantic Canada and received Royal Assent in October 2024. The legislation expanded the mandates of the offshore energy regulators in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador to include renewable energy projects in their respective offshore areas.