A $100 million investment from the federal government to offshore wind in Nova Scotia for what the province calls one of the largest economic development opportunities in generations.
It will go toward research, data collection and analysis required to advance development.
“Nova Scotia is no longer at the end of the energy transmission line – we are at the starting point,” said the province in a statement.
According to the province, offshore wind in Nova Scotia is among the strongest in the world.
In an announcement on the Dartmouth waterfront Thursday morning, Houston said it’s a major milestone that will bring us one step closer to making our province a “global clean energy powerhouse”.
After a cabinet meeting, Thursday afternoon Houston said before the private sector invests in developments, they need to understand the information around wind energy.
“And hopefully leverage private investment in the tens of billions of dollars,” said Houston. “I think that’s a pretty good use of public money.”
The $100 million will go toward the Wind West project which is designed to harness offshore wind with the potential to generate enough electricity to cover roughly a quarter of Canada’s total needs.
Wind West has also been named part of the federal government’s major infrastructure projects.
Out of the investment announced, $5 million will be spent on floating light detection and buoys used to collect data on offshore wind, weather and ocean conditions.
Nearly $3 million will go to Net Zero Atlantic to expand modelling of offshore wind electricity transmission to markets outside of Nova Scotia.
In addition to that, the province said the funding will support Nova Scotia’s goal of licensing up to five gigawatts of offshore wind energy by 2030.
