Nova Scotia opens a second renewable energy procurement round for wind power, offering developers 25% more to finish by 2029

Nova Scotia renewable energy procurement for wind power

Nova Scotia opened a new renewable energy procurement round for wind and other generation on September 10, 2026. The province is seeking 350 megawatts of new capacity, enough to supply 1,200 gigawatt hours of electricity a year, sold under 25 year contracts directly to large customers instead of through the regular utility rate.

Power Advisory LLC administers the process independently of the government and the utility, after running 2 earlier tidal energy procurements in the province. Applications close January 14, 2027, and Nova Scotia expects to pick winning projects in May 2027. Bids are judged on the price of the energy, how much experience the developer has, environmental impact, community engagement and the economic benefits promised, and the round accepts any renewable technology, though wind has won every project awarded so far.

Why the first round delivered less power than planned

The 350 megawatt target for this procurement stream was first set in 2021. Its first competitive round picked 6 winning bids, but 4 withdrew before signing final contracts, leaving only 2 wind projects. Eigg Mountain, a 150 megawatt project in Antigonish County, was developed by Renewable Energy Systems Canada with the Paqtnkek community. Sugar Maple, a 112 megawatt project in Pictou County, was developed by SWEB with Glooscap First Nation. Together the 2 projects deliver 262 megawatts, contracted at an average price between 63.62 and 66.43 Canadian dollars per megawatt hour.

Only 2 of the original 6 selected bids ever reached a signed contract. The other 4 walked away before construction began, a result the new round design tries to prevent.

A price bonus to move projects faster

The new round adds an incentive the first one did not have. A project that starts selling power by December 31, 2029 earns 25% more for that power, until December 31, 2030. No single project in the round may be larger than 150 megawatts, and every developer must post a financial guarantee of 35,000 dollars for each megawatt it proposes, so the largest possible project would have to post 5.25 million dollars before construction starts.

We need these wind projects in order to secure long term contracts at an affordable price for ratepayers.

Peter Craig, director of electricity with the Nova Scotia Department of Energy. Source 2.

Who already buys this power

Customers already signed onto the Green Choice program include the Nova Scotia government itself, Walmart, Michelin, and several post secondary institutions, all paying for 100% renewable electricity outside the standard utility rate. Eddie Oldfield of the Canadian Renewable Energy Association said the round would strengthen the position Nova Scotia holds as a renewable energy leader and support the clean electricity targets the province has set, pv magazine reports.

The law behind the 2030 target

The 80% target is not a goal, it is a law. The Environmental Goals and Climate Change Reduction Act, passed in November 2021, requires Nova Scotia to generate 80% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030, according to the Canada Energy Regulator, the federal agency that tracks provincial energy data. Nova Scotia Power, the utility that will hold the 25 year contracts this round produces, says it already runs 600 megawatts of wind power and aims to stop using coal entirely by the same year.

As of 2021, wind was already the largest single source of generating capacity in the province, ahead of hydroelectric power and a biomass plant at Port Hawkesbury.