HALIFAX — A prequalification process for potential bidders is among the initial steps announced Saturday as Ottawa and Nova Scotia look to kick-start the development of Canada’s first offshore wind projects.
Sean Fraser, minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, was in Halifax where he told reporters the idea is to vet the strength of interested companies before a call for bids goes out likely sometime early in the new year.
“You want to make sure that you are not awarding the opportunity to do the work to a party that doesn’t actually have the capacity to deliver,” said Fraser. “The whole purpose is to make sure that we are dealing with serious players who have the capacity to do what they say they are going to do.”
The minister said the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Energy Regulator would also seek information to inform the bid process from the Mi’kmaq, offshore wind industry and fishing and seafood industries through a public consultation.
He said once issued, the call for information will be open for a minimum of 30 days while the prequalification process will last a minimum of 90 days.
Fraser said the process will eventually target bids for up to three gigawatts of energy, although both Ottawa and the province are interested in as much as five gigawatts in the near-term if that target is feasible.
The announcement came nine days after Prime Minister Mark Carney said that Ottawa was prepared to work with Nova Scotia to ramp up its ambitious plans for the so-called Wind West project, which is aimed at providing power to the rest of Atlantic Canada and beyond.
Nova Scotia Energy Minister Trevor Boudreau reiterated Saturday that the province is focused on an expedited process in order to get to the development stage.
“Our goal is to move this along in an appropriate fashion to make sure it’s done right, but certainly our goal is to move it quickly as well,” Boudreau said.
In July, provincial officials announced their goal was to issue a call for development bids by the end of this year with a goal of licensing five gigawatts of offshore wind energy by 2030, and some possible construction of offshore turbine sites in 2033.
Nova Scotia estimates the initial capital cost of Wind West at around $60 billion. The province said it would expect a four per cent royalty from offshore production and is seeking federal investment tax credits and low-interest financing through the Canada Infrastructure Bank.
Fraser said the ask list laid out by Nova Scotia contains things that need to be considered.
“We have work to do together to ensure we’ve got the framework in place to turn these ideas into real investments,” he said. “So we are going to be at the table collaborating through the major projects office to ensure that we have the tools in place to take this idea from paper to a real series of projects.”
The province also announced this summer that four offshore areas had been designated for offshore wind development. The areas include French Bank, Middle Bank and Sable Island Bank — all south of Nova Scotia’s Eastern Shore — and Sydney Bight, northeast of Cape Breton.
In a letter laying out directives to the offshore regulator, the governments said that at least one parcel should initially be identified for development in Sydney Bight and on French Bank and at least two parcels on Middle Bank.
The letter also said that all bidders should be required to pay a one-time nonrefundable fee of $250,000, while successful bidders would be required to pay an additional fee of $750,000 upon the issuance of a submerged land licence.
“The purpose of these fees is to demonstrate a seriousness of intent and secure the exclusive rights to the submerged lands,” the letter states.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 20, 2025.
Keith Doucette, The Canadian Press
