A call for Information is the next step for the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Energy Regulator (CNSOER) before calling bids on four Wind Energy Areas designated in Nova Scotia offshore waters.
The Province of Nova Scotia and the Government of Canada jointly designated French Bank, Middle Bank and Sable Island Bank off mainland Nova Scotia and Sydney Bight off Cape Breton as Wind Energy Areas on July 29, calling it “a key step to develop the offshore wind industry that will provide long-term energy security and generational economic benefits for Nova Scotians.”
The next step in developing offshore wind energy is identifying the parcels within the designated areas that will be included in the first call for bids later this year. The aim is to license five gigawatts of offshore wind by 2030, setting the stage for future offshore wind development and position Nova Scotia to become an exporter of clean energy.
Identifying the parcels within the designated areas that will be included in the call for bids will be done through the offshore wind Call for Information (CFI) process; a public engagement process carried out by the CNSOER to seek feedback and collect information from Indigenous groups and rights holders, the fishing sector, the public, industry, government departments and other stakeholders, with the purpose of administering a successful offshore wind Call for Bids.
During the offshore wind Call for Information process, the CNSOER will engage on some or all of these aspects including location(s) of potential parcel(s) within government-identified Wind Energy Areas (WEAs); the draft terms and conditions for a submerged land licence; proposed criteria and assessment approach used in future offshore wind Call for Bids.
As part of the offshore wind Call for Information process, the CNSOER will gather information from potential offshore wind developers. Developers may identify their area of interest within the selected government-designated Wind Energy Area by noting their area of interest by completing an online form.
Once all feedback is collected and taken into consideration through the offshore wind Call for Information process, the CNSOER will make offshore renewable energy recommendations to the Ministers to make an offshore wind Call for Bids and the terms and conditions of subsequent submerged land licences. These recommendations will outline the details of the Call for Bids, including bidding criteria and how it will be assessed, terms and conditions for a submerged land licence, and location(s) of parcel(s) that may be available for bid, said the CNSOER.
Kris Vascotto, executive director of the Nova Scotia Fisheries Alliance for Energy Engagement, said the pace offshore wind development is happening in Nova Scotia is progressing quickly.
“It does appear to be some important stepping stones that have yet to be achieved. For instance, what’s going to happen if a harvester loses access to his fishing grounds or what does he do if the resource disappears and they no longer have access to the resource to support their families, their livelihood and the community? If you look at Middle Bank, we know there is a lot of halibut and snow crab activity going on there. That highlights that conversations need to be ongoing. Consultation and discussion with the harvesting sector is going to be key to making co-existence actually work… if you put a wind farm somewhere, you’re going to be in a situation where some people are pushed out. The question is what do you do then?” said Vascotto.
During the Call for Information process, Vascotto said he expects the Alliance will weigh in after reaching out to harvesters for more input about their fishing activity in those areas so they can inform the regulators.
Vascotto said the Alliance has been engaged since early in the process, prior to the establishment of the wind energy areas informing the regional assessment committee, government and regulators what current harvesting activities are taking place in offshore Nova Scotia.
“It’s obvious they listened to some of the input, but not everything, because no matter what from the issues that have been laid out, there’s going to be impacts. There are people fishing in those areas and those people are going to experience some impact. What we haven’t done is tell them where to go in each of those wind energy areas simply because every part is being used by someone. Instead, what we did was to take the approach focusing to make sure the regulators and future developers understand the activities that are there that they may immediately impact and to provide some opportunity for meaningful co-existence long term,” said Vascotto.
“There were some areas they could have trimmed out of the wind energy areas that would have greatly reduced the potential for conflicts. Interestingly, they did do it for Sydney Bight. They pushed that to the 25 km buffer and didn’t really do it on French Bank. The question is why did you do it for one and not the other? I would not say the industry feels they have been well listened to but there is definitely some listening happening by the province and the regulators.”
