Nova Scotia·NewNova Scotia’s new energy system operator wants a new power plant that would use natural gas and oil to generate hundreds of megawatts of energy for the electricity grid. The plan was released as Premier Tim Houston promotes a revival of the offshore natural gas industry. Plan released as premier tries to drum up interest in offshore petroleum developmentTaryn Grant · CBC News · Posted: Oct 16, 2025 4:22 PM EDT | Last Updated: 30 minutes agoThe Lingan power station, which generates electricity with coal, is one of several coal-fired plants set to be retired by 2030. A new power plant powered by gas and oil would offset some of what’s lost to those retirements. (Tom Ayers/CBC)Nova Scotia’s new energy system operator wants to see a new power plant built that would use natural gas and oil to generate hundreds of megawatts of energy for the electricity grid.The Independent Energy System Operator (IESO) put out a call for expressions of interest Thursday that says it wants to build a plant that can operate on demand to balance the variability of wind and solar power. Renewable energy is set to become a significant part of the province’s energy mix in the coming years and Nova Scotia Power has said it needs 600 megawatts of new fast-acting generation by 2030 to ensure reliability.The IESO says it has two sites in Pictou County in mind, chosen in part because of their proximity to an existing natural gas pipeline. The new plant is supposed to use both natural gas and oil — either light fuel oil or diesel.The IESO says the one site is in the community of Salt Springs and the other is in the community of Marshdale. Beyond that it won’t identify the exact sites, but proponents could find out in January when the request for proposals goes live. They’ll have to pay a $10,000 fee.No one from the IESO was immediately available for an interview.The call from the new energy operator — which has just begun taking over some responsibilities from Nova Scotia Power — comes at the same time Premier Tim Houston is trying to drum up interest and support for a revival of offshore petroleum extraction.A pipeline built in the late 1990s that originates in the area of Nova Scotia’s offshore gas reserves is the same one that runs through Pictou County.The Sable Offshore Energy Project was decommissioned starting in 2017. (Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board)Houston was in London this week to give a speech about offshore petroleum at the World Energies Summit. The province’s delegation also had a booth at the conference, which cost $10,000.On the same day, Houston released a video on social media extolling Nova Scotia’s offshore petroleum potential.He said Nova Scotia has enough offshore gas to supply all of Canada’s needs for three decades and bring billions of dollars of revenues into the province’s coffers. “Nova Scotians have harnessed the power of our offshore before,” he said in the video. “We did it safely, we did it successfully, and doing it again will provide our region with the resources we need to power our economy.”There was offshore natural gas activity in Nova Scotia from the early 1990s until 2018, when the last wells were capped and exploration ceased.Since then, the offshore energy regulator has put out several calls for bids. One was vetoed by the federal and Nova Scotia governments and others went unanswered.Given that history, opposition leaders were skeptical the premier will have any success in his appeal to the petroleum sector.“The government and the premier are telling Nova Scotians that tomorrow there’s going to be offshore natural gas that is going to be the saviour of this province financially,” interim Liberal Leader Derek Mombourquette told reporters.“If anything was ever to happen, it is years away, but … multiple bids have gone out and there’s been no interest,” he said.NDP Leader Claudia Chender said the province made a “flashy video” but no real strides toward reviving an industry.“That’s not money in people’s pockets, that’s not helping anyone pay the rent, that’s not actually providing jobs for anyone in any foreseeable timeline, if ever,” Chender said.But Energy Minister Trevor Boudreau said things are different now than they were when past calls for bids went out. He highlighted that Europeans have been looking for new natural gas suppliers since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and Canada is looking to eliminate its reliance on imported energy.“Let’s not forget, you know, Nova Scotia also imports every drop of natural gas that we use right now in the province. And so for us, it’s also about energy security,” he told reporters following a cabinet meeting Thursday.Meanwhile, the province took another step toward offshore wind development Thursday with the launch of a prequalification for potential licence holders.Additionally, the offshore energy regulator further narrowed down the potential sites for offshore wind licences from four to three. It eliminated the Sable Island Bank from the running.In an interview, Boudreau said the area was dropped because it’s the furthest from the coast and would likely be more costly. He denied that it had anything to do with the fact the area has known reserves of offshore petroleum and a pipeline for transporting natural gas.MORE TOP STORIES ABOUT THE AUTHORTaryn Grant covers daily news for CBC Nova Scotia, with a particular interest in housing and homelessness, education, and health care. You can email her with tips and feedback at taryn.grant@cbc.ca
N.S. energy operator looks to build new fossil fuel power plant in Pictou County
