Nova Scotia·NewNova Scotia is looking to Ottawa for tax credits, low-interest financing and direct investment, among other requests, to realize Premier Tim Houston’s vision for a massive build-out of offshore wind.Premier says federal support will attract private investmentTaryn Grant · CBC News · Posted: Sep 12, 2025 11:23 AM EDT | Last Updated: 1 hour agoWind turbines are seen off the coast of Sussex, England in this file photo. Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston says with a nod from Prime Minister Mark Carney, he’s confident Nova Scotia will be home to the country’s first offshore wind farms. (Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)Nova Scotia is looking to Ottawa for tax credits, low-interest financing and direct investment, among other requests, to realize Premier Tim Houston’s vision for a massive build-out of offshore wind.Those are among the details revealed in a new document released by the provincial government on the same day that Prime Minister Mark Carney indicated “Wind West” could be designated a project of national interest.On Thursday, Carney gave the designation to five projects and said six others are in the running, but need more work before they could be approved.Houston said he was “thrilled” his project made the list of contenders.”I can say with even more certainty that Nova Scotia will deliver for Canada the first offshore wind for our country,” he said in an interview on CBC’s Power & Politics.A boost for investor interestHouston said he expects the nod from Ottawa to entice more potential developers. Nova Scotia has spent the past few years working with Ottawa to set up a regulatory framework for offshore wind. With that recently in place, the province has indicated a first call for bids for offshore wind licences will go out before the end of 2025.”The interest level just went up dramatically,” the premier said.WATCH| Premier Tim Houston says he’s ‘thrilled’ with nod from Carney for offshore wind:Premiers express optimism over Carney’s nation-building projectsPrime Minister Mark Carney has announced his first batch of major projects, after spending the summer reviewing pitches from Canada’s premiers. Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston says getting his wind energy project referred for further work ahead of approval means ‘economic hope’ for his province. He acknowledged that there are still many more steps on the path to developing offshore wind in Nova Scotia, including the formal designation from Ottawa and, if that comes, details on what the federal commitment would entail.The province’s newly released proposal for Wind West says Nova Scotia wants assurances it will be able to access investment tax credits and one per cent financing through the Canada Infrastructure Bank. Without tax credits and cheaper borrowing, the proposal says the cost of offshore wind energy would be $240 per megawatt-hour; with both forms of aid, the cost would drop to $170 per megawatt-hour.This table shows the Province of Nova Scotia’s projected energy costs for wind energy, depending on availability of federal aid. ITC refers to investment tax credit and CIB refers to low-cost financing through the Canada Infrastructure Bank. (Province of Nova Scotia)The province is also looking for support for engagement with the Mi’kmaq – namely, aid through the Federal Indigenous Loan Guarantee Program to help Mi’kmaw communities purchase equity in projects – and other “upfront” support, including investments in ports, labour force and infrastructure.The bottom lineThe document clarifies some of the cost projections the Houston government is making, including a $60-billion capital cost, with $40 billion going to the actual wind farms and $20 billion to new transmission lines.It does not break down how much of that would be paid by each level of government or the private sector, although there is clearly an expectation that all would contribute.”[Offshore wind developers] recognize the long-term potential and want to help make it a reality,” the document says. “This means, the Federal Government does not need to do all the heavy lifting or provide all the financial support, and nor does the Province of Nova Scotia.”The province expects to get a four per cent royalty on production.First turbines spinning by 2033The crux of Houston’s argument for Wind West as a project of national interest is that Nova Scotia’s offshore wind resource has the potential to generate far more energy than Nova Scotia needs alone, and building out transmission capabilities would allow the province to provide energy to other parts of Canada and the world.Also, the scale of Houston’s proposal would require “millions of tonnes of steel, cement and materials,” which could be an economic boon to all of Atlantic Canada, Quebec and Ontario, the pitch goes.The province is proposing two possible transmission routes: an overland route through New Brunswick and a subsea line that would make landfall in either Quebec or New England.”Nova Scotia is open to either route,” the proposal says. But it also notes that the overland route “could unlock regional energy integration across Atlantic Canada and Quebec.” Read the province’s plan The province says Ottawa could support studies on feasibility and routing studies for the transmission lines, and clarify federal permitting and possible fast-tracking procedures.Houston said he expects Nova Scotia to name successful proponents for offshore wind licences within six months. The proposal says pre-construction work would run into 2030, while construction would take place from 2031 to 2033. A total 15,000 megawatts of offshore wind would come online between 2033 and 2040, the proposal says.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 With files from David Cochrane
N.S. government provides details about $60B ‘Wind West’ as feds give nod
