For 250 years, coal mining made Cape Breton Island the industrial heartland of Atlantic Canada, supplying the fuel for steelmaking, electricity, and heating. Since federal coal subsidies ended in 2001, politicians have chased the next big energy source: offshore oil, natural gas, tidal, LNG, hydrogen, and now, Wind West.

Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston announced Canada’s first offshore wind project, in a short promotional video released during the June 2025 meeting of the prime minister, premiers, and territorial leaders in Saskatoon. Houston envisages Wind West with 66 gigawatts of offshore wind turbines producing 40 gigawatts (as opposed to gigawatt-hours)—enough, he says, to meet about 27% of Canada’s electricity needs.

For comparison, the world’s largest operational offshore wind farm is Ørsted’s Hornsea 2 in the North Sea, which has 165 turbines and a capacity of 1.3 gigawatts.

Wind West traces back to Houston’s 2022 announcement, offering leases for five gigawatts of offshore wind capacity by 2030, an effort to position Nova Scotia as “… an international leader in offshore wind”.

After almost two years of analysis considering geographical constraints, conservation areas and areas of human activity, and following consultations with government departments, contractors, First Nations, NGOs, fisheries, and industry experts, the province released the Regional Assessment of Offshore Wind Energy in Nova Scotia in early 2025. The assessment  identified five “Tier 1” Potential Development Areas (PDAs) on the Scotian Shelf. Four selected PDAs termed as wind energy areas or WEAs—Sydney Bight, French Bank, Middle Bank, and Sable Island Bank—will be open for leasing late 2025, with the fifth, Emerald Bank, to follow in 2030.

By accident or design, the four PDAs either overlap or sit close to existing natural gas or electricity corridors that already hold federal and provincial approvals: Emera’s Maritime Link runs past Sydney Bight, while the routes of the former gas pipelines used by the Sable Offshore Energy Project and Deep Panuke [pdf] pass through or near French Bank, Middle Bank, and Sable Island Bank.

Altogether there are about 11,355 square kilometres available for leasing in the four WEAs. More than half of these, 56%, are in relatively shallow waters of zero to 60 metres, suitable for turbines built on fixed-bottom foundations attached to the seafloor. In deeper waters, turbines are floating and must be tethered to the seabed, a typically more expensive design.

Wind West did not make the Prime Minister’s first list of five “nation-building projects”, but it was recognized as one of six projects that could be “truly transformative for the country which are at an earlier stage and require further development”.

Scaled Down First Steps

In response, Premier Houston released the Wind West Strategic Plan [pdf], which describes a $60 billion plan for five gigawatts. Wind West assumes the availability of long-term, low-interest funding from the Canada Infrastructure Bank and Investment Tax Credits (ITCs) of 30% for wind and 15% for transmission infrastructure.

The Strategic Plan expects five gigawatts of capacity commissioned by 2033  and 15 gigawatts by 2040.

However, the federal-provincial notice of strategic direction [pdf] instructs the Canada-Nova Scotia offshore energy regulator to solicit bids and issue licenses for just three gigawatts (3,000 megawatts) across only three WEAs, while noting it would welcome a more ambitious target. The largest WEA, Sable Island Bank, has been omitted because of distance from the mainland.

Moreover, the notice intends to “optimize local benefits from projects”, specifying where developers can site their wind farms and the maximum capacity allowed. The largest WEA, Sable Island Bank, has been omitted because of distance from the mainland.

Déjà Vu in the Energy File

Even if Wind West does reach 15 gigawatts by 2040, it will be well into the second half of this century before the Premier’s 40-to-66 gigawatts of offshore wind is achieved. Realizing it will require a resilient supply chain and onshore infrastructure for turbine assembly and maintenance, detailed wind, wave, and seafloor data available or wind developers—who need to be willing to invest despite high interest rates and inflation. It would also rely on continued federal support, and the Scotian Shelf experiencing minimal impact from climate change.

Federal and provincial politicians are heralding Wind West as a game changer that will benefit all Nova Scotians. If this sounds vaguely familiar, it should. For decades, Nova Scotia’s leaders have  overpromised on energy projects. In 2005, discussions centered around LNG exports. Even further back, it was offshore oil. Tidal technology made waves in 2008, and then in 2022, Canada had plans to begin exporting hydrogen to Germany by 2025. Many of these initiatives have not progressed as envisioned.

So, what’s the next big thing? Offshore wind, it seems.