Environmental groups ‘applauding’ Houston’s wind deal with Massachusetts

CITYnews halifax / By Natasha O’Neill

Three of Atlantic Canada’s largest and leading environmental organizations are “applauding” a deal the Nova Scotia government made earlier this week.

In a press release, the Atlantic Offshore Wind Coalition says it is welcoming the memorandum of understanding that Premier Tim Houston and Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey signed on Wednesday. The agreement will be for Nova Scotia to supply the state with offshore wind energy, particularly Houston’s multi-billion-dollar Wind West project.

“This kind of inter-jurisdictional partnership is crucial for the transition to clean energy,” Gretchen Fitzgerald, Executive Director at Sierra Club Canada, said in the release.

Nova Scotia and Massachusetts have a long history, dating back to the Halifax Harbour Explosion. The two have remained close allies and partners, something the governor said continues with the agreement signed. Both parties will be exploring options for energy transfers, transmission planning and coordinating the offshore wind supply chain.

Although the less glamorous details than the wind turbines themselves, the environmental organizations say these are important first steps to see the project to fruition.

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“This same kind of collaboration is needed between Atlantic provinces,” Shauna Kelly, Offshore Wind Coordinator at Sierra Club Canada, explained. “If done right, offshore wind has the potential to create thousands of good jobs, boost local economies and deliver affordable, reliable, clean energy to our communities across Atlantic Canada.”

Houston has touted that the province’s plan to secure offshore wind farms could produce up to 40 gigawatts, well beyond the 2.4 gigawatts Nova Scotia needs. The plan is to harness the energy and sell it to other provinces or states. The close to $60 billion needed for the Wind West project has the initial backing of Prime Minister Mark Carney, who said that the federal government is prepared to help the province achieve its ambitious plan.

One portion of the feasibility is whether Nova Scotia can create interregional transmission, such as high-voltage power lines that could link Atlantic Canada and Quebec. The groups pointed to a 2024 expert panel to the federal government that recommended such a project.

(Atlantic Offshore Wind Coalition)

A key reason why the organizations are backing the agreement is that modelling by the groups shows how beneficial the Wind West project could be for the environment, and for the pockets of Canadians.

“Atlantic Canadians are struggling to pay their energy bills,” says Renée Fougère, Offshore Wind Coordinator with the Ecology Action Centre. “High-voltage transmission would allow for unprecedented growth in renewable energy across the region, lower electricity rates by an average of 11 per cent in Atlantic provinces, and boost GDP in Atlantic Canada by as much as $8 billion.”