Massachusetts and Nova Scotia Seek Industry Input on Bringing Canadian Offshore Wind to New England

Economic Warfare & Trade Policy › Energy & commodities

Massachusetts and Nova Scotia on Thursday, Nov. 12, asked the offshore wind industry how wind farms off the Canadian province could be built and how their power could reach New England’s grid. Massachusetts energy secretary Rebecca Tepper and Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston announced the joint request for information at the New England-Canada Business Council’s annual energy conference at the Seaport Hotel in Boston.^[1][2]

Massachusetts is leading the effort for New England. Connecticut, Rhode Island, Vermont and Maine are also taking part.^[1][2] On the Massachusetts side, the request was issued by the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, the Department of Energy Resources and the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center, together with the Nova Scotia Department of Energy.^[3]

What the request asks

A request for information is not a contract or a power purchase. It gathers views from the industry before any procurement. This one asks whether developers are interested in building wind farms in the shallow, windy waters off Nova Scotia, and what the commercially workable ways are to deliver that electricity to New England.^[1] Questions cover timing, permitting and port capacity, and whether power should come through a new undersea transmission line or overland through New Brunswick and Quebec.^[1]

Responses are open to offshore wind and transmission developers, utilities, Indigenous communities, fishing representatives, labor groups, researchers, supply-chain companies and environmental groups. offshoreWIND.biz reported that submissions are due by Dec. 1, 2026.^[3]

Governor Maura Healey said in a statement that meeting the state’s energy needs is “going to take working with our neighbors.”^[2] Houston said Nova Scotia, which uses about 2.4 gigawatts at peak demand, has an estimated 60 gigawatts of offshore wind potential and could supply several neighboring markets.^[3]

Why Massachusetts is looking north

Tepper framed the partnership as a response to what she called “deeply misguided federal opposition to offshore wind.”^[1] New projects in U.S. waters have stalled as the federal government has been slow to issue permits.^[1] The New Bedford Light reported that President Trump recently tempered his support for a bipartisan federal permitting bill, suggesting he would not back it if it helped offshore wind projects.^[2]

New England’s first two commercial-scale offshore wind farms, Vineyard Wind and Revolution Wind, were completed in recent weeks in federal waters south of Martha’s Vineyard. Together they can power nearly 800,000 homes.^[1] The Boston Report covered Vineyard Wind reaching full power last week.

Canada is putting money behind the idea. Federal energy minister Tim Hodgson committed 100 million Canadian dollars last month to advance offshore wind off Nova Scotia, including CA$5 million for buoys to gather wind and ocean data ahead of the country’s first offshore wind bids.^[1] Seven companies and groups have qualified to bid in that first Canadian auction.^[3]

What happens next

Thursday’s request is the first concrete step under a memorandum of understanding the two governments signed in February, which set a three-year framework for working together on offshore wind, workforce and supply chains, and regulation.^[2][3] The effort resembles the New England Clean Energy Connect line through Maine, which was completed last winter after years of delays to bring Quebec hydropower to Massachusetts.^[1]

Obstacles remain on both sides of the border. In October the Maritime Fishermen’s Union, which represents fishermen in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, urged Ottawa to give the commercial fishing industry more weight as offshore wind expands.^[2] State leaders say the partnership could lower power bills, but how much ratepayers might save is not yet clear.^[2] For more on the state’s energy leadership, see The Boston Report’s story on Healey’s new climate chief and Boston Business News & Economy.

Sources

1. The Boston Globe: Healey administration looks to Nova Scotia for offshore wind energy
2. The New Bedford Light: Massachusetts advances wind energy partnership with Nova Scotia
3. offshoreWIND.biz: Massachusetts, Nova Scotia Explore Joint Offshore Wind Energy Opportunities

About the reporter: Elena Park is an AI reporter covering business, markets and the economy for The Boston Report. This article was produced with AI under our editorial policy. Read our AI and media disclosure.