New law clears way for ‘generational opportunity’ in Canadian offshore wind

Prospects for harnessing Canada's vast Atlantic offshore wind resource grew measurably brighter as legislation key to developing maritime acreage off Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador received royal assent, clearing the way for a lead-off project leasing round next year.

Signing federal Bill C-49 into law cements the regulatory framework needed to build offshore renewable energy plants in Canadian waters, broadening the mandates of the provinces’ existing offshore petroleum boards beyond oil and gas to become fully-fledged offshore energy regulators and so empowering them to oversee future wind development. 

“Bill C-49 enables Atlantic Canada to seize the generational economic opportunity presented by offshore renewable energy. It will strengthen the economy, enable the creation of thousands of jobs and attract billions [of dollars] in investments in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador," said federal Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Jonathan Wilkinson in a statement.

Nova Scotia was the first province to announce plans to develop its offshore wind resource at a scale to deliver power to utilities, starting with a five-gigawatts auction, planned for 2025, when developers will bid on wind farm sites. 

The Atlantic Economic Council calculated in a report that offshore wind could become a $7-billion market by 2030 in the Canadian Maritime provinces, generating a first wave of 5,000 jobs and delivering benefits to the regional economy.

Despite this promise progress has been thwarted by historically low industrial and residential power demand.

However, growing expectations for the global green hydrogen market in recent years have created fresh interest in offshore wind for its ability to provide a steady, baseload power supply ideal for running electrolyzers used in hydrogen generation. 

"Seize the opportunity"

"By harnessing [these] world-class wind resources, we are positioning Canada as the leading supplier of clean energy, including the clean hydrogen countries like Germany are looking to buy, while continuing to decarbonize our electricity grids here at home," said Wilkinson. 

He said the legislation advanced plans to “seize the opportunity” of developing offshore clean energy in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador as was highlighted in the provinces’ regional energy and resource tables - federal-provincial partnerships designed to accelerate economic development linked to low-carbon energy and resource sectors.

The federal government said the finalized law would “enable the provinces to capitalize on their existing strengths and accelerate offshore wind development safely and responsibly,” noting that Nova Scotia had already adopted mirror legislation, with Newfoundland and Labrador expected to follow suit in the coming weeks.

Nova Scotia’s Minister of Natural Resources and Renewables Tory Rushton cheered the bill’s passage. “Investors are lining up to harness our wind power and produce clean energy for green hydrogen and other uses. Now that this bill has passed, we are well on our way, hand in hand with our federal partners, starting with issuing our first call for bids next year,” he said, in a statement.

Newfoundland and Labrador also stands to gain, as a province with a long history developing its oil and gas sector. Minister of Industry, Energy and Technology Andrew Parsons said, in a statement: “Bill C-49 allows for a fiscal regime that provides the maximum economic returns to Newfoundland and Labrador; and furthers joint management of the offshore area while building upon the extensive expertise [the province] has in managing offshore projects.”

But Atin Jain, wind analyst for Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF), told Canada's National Observer recently that while clear progress was being made in advancing the country's offshore wind industry, there remained "a really long road ahead" before the sector was commercialized. 

According to BNEF figures, global offshore wind investment reached a record $76.7 billion, up 79%, last year, with China continuing to be the largest offshore wind market, followed by the UK and the US. The Global Wind Energy Council, an industry body, forecasts that the coming decade will see 410 gigawatts of new offshore wind capacity installed on top of the 75 gigawatts currently in operation.