Abstract
Nova Scotia’s offshore wind potential is significant, with consistently strong winds across the shallow waters immediately offshore. This makes it ideal for large-scale wind farm development, helping the province and Canada meet renewable energy targets.
The federal and provincial governments are committed to offshore wind development. On July 29, 2025, four Wind Energy Areas (WEAs) were finalized ahead of Canada’s first offshore wind licence round, targeting up to 5 GW of wind power by 2030. This is the first of several planned offerings and sets Nova Scotia on a path to become a major exporter of clean energy.
This desktop study summarizes what we know about the wind speeds and ground conditions (both seafloor and sub-seafloor) offshore Nova Scotia. We use this information to highlight important considerations for potential developers, including geohazards, engineering constraints and geotechnical properties.
We generate suitability maps for various wind turbine foundation concepts to help guide lease screening and bidding decisions, and to set a solid basis for further investment and data acquisition decisions. Finally, we make recommendations for future site investigation and ground modeling campaigns that will be necessary to plan and develop the projects to meet Nova Scotia’s offshore wind targets.
This sample paper provides a high-level overview of wind and ground conditions offshore Nova Scotia. The complete 100-page desktop study offers in-depth data, detailed suitability maps, and comprehensive recommendations to support project planning and investment decisions. To access the full study see the webpage.