Harnessing Canada’s Offshore Wind Potential
Our Sales Director, Andy Venn, talks about Canada’s growing offshore wind sector and the enormous potential it has to contribute to the global energy transition.
Areas of Canada’s coast have amongst the fastest wind speeds in the world, and the country is no stranger to wind power, with 337 onshore wind farms as of 2023, so why has Canada been rather slower to start building offshore?
Aside from the usual concerns regarding offshore wind infrastructure, including corrosion of materials and the potential impact on wildlife, additional issues such as the risk of collision with icebergs due to changing temperatures, and the distance of suitable areas from the existing electricity grid have hindered Canada’s progress … until now.
Legislative Changes
In recent years, changes to legislation at both federal and provincial levels have opened up the opportunity for offshore wind farms in several areas of Canada.
In May 2023, the federal Minister of Energy and Natural Resources introduced Bill C-49. The proposed legislation will permit offshore wind development for the first time in Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador. The bill also proposes amendments to legislation already in place for these 3 provinces which currently relates only to offshore oil and gas, in order to streamline the process by utilising existing frameworks.
In December 2023, Newfoundland and Labrador also signed a memorandum of understanding which aims to ensure that their offshore wind projects are regulated by the province alone, without involvement from the governing body as proposed by Bill C-49. This means that their provincial governments will have sole regulatory authority in terms of approval and management of offshore wind projects in 16 designated inland bays.
Nova Scotia and the East Coast
Whilst Newfoundland and Labrador have made it clear that they intend to manage any offshore wind projects in their territories at a provincial level, the Minister of Natural Resources and Renewables for Nova Scotia has in June 2024 spoken in favour of the C-49 Bill, stating, “We need our federal partners to move fast so that we can stay on course, do our work and make sure Nova Scotia reaps all the benefits of this clean energy for our environment and for our green economy.” The province has also enacted a Marine Renewable-Energy Act which designates areas of marine renewable energy in nearshore areas to be managed at a provincial level, whilst deeper water projects will be jointly managed with the federal government.
A committee for the regional assessment of Nova Scotia’s coast was established in March 2023 and has since identified six suitable areas for offshore wind farms, as well as measuring wind speeds of between 9-11 m/sec. In March 2024 our colleagues in the Venterra Group Geoscience team announced their contract – to assess metocean data collection needs – to enable offshore wind farm development off Canada’s Atlantic Coast including Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador. The geoscience team will evaluate regions with imminent development potential.
The Nova East Wind Floating Wind Farm
Expected to be the first completed offshore wind farm in Canada, Nova East Wind has a projected generation capacity of 300 to 400 megawatts (MV). The project intends to use floating wind technology, with construction planned to begin in 2028, ready for operations commencing in 2030.
Sea-Breeze Tech Floating Wind Project
This farm is currently in the development phase with tests being conducted. Floating turbines have been chosen because they can be placed in deeper water where the wind speeds will be higher. Sensors and control systems will be used to adjust the position and orientation of the turbines based on changing wind and wave conditions. The project currently has an estimated capacity of 100 MV.
Yarmouth Offshore Wind Farm
Located in the Bay of Fundy, this fixed gravity wind farm project currently estimates to have a capacity of 960MV and hopes to be in commercial operation by 2030.
2030 is setting up to be a big year for Nova Scotia as, by then, the province plans to have offered seabed leases for up to 5 GW of offshore wind energy in support of green hydrogen production.
British Columbia
Most of the investigations into offshore wind power are focused on the East Coast of Canada, but British Columbia also has offshore wind power potential.
The province holds the Crown title to the seabed, and so has jurisdiction to regulate offshore renewable energy projects in shallow waters. Projects for deeper waters are regulated by the federal government in conjunction with the province. Two of the notable offshore wind farms planned for the west coast are Hecate Offshore Wind Farm, in the Hecate Strait (396 KW), and Allan Array Floating Wind Farm.
Allan Array Floating Wind Farm
This project holds a 260,000-hectare area investigative licence, making it North America’s largest proposed clean energy project. The space has potential for 10 GW fixed bottom wind farms and 7 GW floating projects. It will be located on a shallow bank in Queen Charlotte Sound.
What’s Next?
Canada still has some catching up to do on the global stage, with just 35 offshore wind projects in development and none yet nearing the construction phase. But, with some of the highest wind speeds in the world and some huge projects in the planning stage, Canada should soon begin to reach its incredible wind power potential. So far much of the focus has been on using offshore wind energy to produce green hydrogen, but some – such as the Canadian Climate Institute – feel that Canada’s untapped wind potential could also be used to provide clean energy across the country. The next few years will show if electricity or green hydrogen will be the focus of Canada’s offshore wind expansion.
For more information on FoundOcean’s experience and capabilities, contact the team on +44 1506 440330 or email info@foundocean.com