Call for Bids expected by late 2025, as Canada designates first offshore wind areas

Together, on 29 July 2025, the Province of Nova Scotia and the government of Canada jointly designated the areas – French Bank, Middle Bank and Sable Island Bank off mainland Nova Scotia and Sydney Bight off Cape Breton.

Canada’s federal and provincial governments jointly manage the Canada-Nova Scotia offshore area through the Canada-Nova Scotia accord acts. Designating the first wind energy areas in the country is a key step to developing an offshore wind industry off the coast of Canada.

Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston said, “With some of the top wind speeds in the world, Nova Scotia has the potential to become a clean energy superpower.

“With the right infrastructure, we’ll have the opportunity to send our wind west to power other parts of Canada. Becoming an energy exporter, we can secure long-term prosperity for Nova Scotians.”

Federal Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Tim Hodgson said the identification of wind energy areas off the coast of Nova Scotia “is a significant step forward towards unlocking our renewable energy potential.”  The Minister said the Federal Government is “moving quickly to deliver on our commitment to advance offshore wind, create clean jobs and support our long-term energy security.”

Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Energy Regulator chief executive Christine Bonnell-Eisnor said, “The Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Energy Regulator is actively preparing its offshore renewable energy recommendations related to the making of an offshore wind call for bids and the terms and conditions of a submerged land licence. Governments designating the offshore wind energy areas is an important step in the offshore wind land tenure process.”

The designation comes after the public was asked for feedback on five proposed areas earlier this year. The input contributed to the decisions to designate four areas and make the French Bank and Sydney Bight areas slightly smaller.

The next step in developing offshore wind energy is identifying the parcels within the designated areas that will be included in the first call for bids later this year. The aim is to licence 5 GW of offshore wind by 2030. 

After the first round of licences are awarded, four other areas identified in the January 2025 regional assessment of offshore wind development will be revisited. They include Western/Emerald Bank, which was the other area shortlisted.

Nova Scotia has also released the final module of an offshore wind road map, which outlines consultation and engagement and reflects feedback from interested parties on offshore wind development.

The roadmap states that in the remainder of 2025, ‘Strategic Direction’ will be jointly issued by federal and provincial ministers to the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Energy Regulator to initiate a parallel call for information and prequalification processes. A Call for Bids, led by the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Energy Regulator, is also expected by the end of 2025, along with ongoing supply chain and infrastructure planning, site characterisation, workforce development, and engagement and consultation to continue to support the growth of the sector.

With the first Call for Bids, companies will have the opportunity to participate in a process that could culminate in the award of a submerged land licence and provide them with the rights allowing them to develop a wind project in a designated area.