Wind farm on the waves: Canada gearing up for its first offshore wind turbines
Canada could soon get its first-ever wind turbines as part of a Nova East Wind project.
According to the project’s website, it will be a 300-400 megawatts floating offshore wind project located 20 to 30 kilometres off Goldboro, Nova Scotia.
The site chosen for the project stands out for its steady, fast, constant, and sustained winds.
Expect 20 to 25 giant turbines floating along one of the world’s longest coastlines. Harnessing the natural wind power, each turbine could produce 15 megawatts of energy.
The project is awaiting approval and could become operational by 2030 to support the country’s decarbonization goals.
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Nova East Wind is helmed by DP Energy and SBM Offshore. The former is an Irish company developing, constructing, and operating renewable energy projects. SBM Offshore is a similar Dutch-based group of companies that provides systems and services in the offshore oil and gas industry.
SBM Offshore Project Development Manager Gerald Sheehan told The Weather Network that he’s “actively engaged with First Nations and commercial fishers to address any concerns.”
The wind turbines are expected to be 1.8 to 2.4 kilometres apart, giving fishers plenty of space to navigate between them.
“There’s more room between offshore turbines than there is between the shores of Halifax harbour, the transits container ships, and vessels every day,” Sheehan said.
Aside from helping Canada and mainly Nova Scotia with its climate action targets, it is also hoped that the project will create jobs and, in turn, boost the economy.
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