Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston has introduced the Powering the Economy Act, legislation that sets out the province’s financial framework for offshore wind development and expands the regulatory architecture for new energy resources. The bill was introduced on 24 February 2026 and builds on the offshore wind enabling package already in place through federal Bill C-49 and corresponding provincial amendments enacted in 2025, signalling that the province is moving from legal permission toward project economics, revenue capture, and procurement mechanics.

 

How Offshore Wind Revenues Would Be Collected

 

A central element is the creation of an Offshore Renewable Energy Revenue Act that defines how the province will collect revenues from offshore wind projects. The bill establishes a levy structure with one levy embedded directly in legislation and another to be set through regulation to reflect market conditions, alongside bid fees that will also be determined through regulations. The design indicates Nova Scotia wants predictable baseline revenue while retaining flexibility to adjust a portion of the take as market pricing, project profitability, and competitive dynamics evolve.

 

Bid and Licence Fees That Shape Early Project Costs

 

The bill’s regulatory framework includes up-front payments tied to the bidding process. Offshore wind bid applications would require a refundable fee of C$250,000, while winning bidders would pay a non-refundable licence fee of C$750,000. These amounts are structured to discourage speculative bidding and to ensure serious applicants, while also creating a clear price of entry that developers must factor into early-stage cost of development and capital planning.

 

Read more: WavEC Opens ORIOM Modeling Platform to Quantify Installation and O&M Tradeoffs in Offshore Renewables

 

The Long-Run Levy and the Shift After Year Ten

 

During the first ten years of commercial operations, developers would pay an annual levy of C$7,000 per megawatt. After ten years, the province would have the option to continue applying the C$7,000 per megawatt levy or to apply a levy set in regulations that reflects a percentage of gross revenue, with the rule that the higher of the two would apply. This structure effectively sets a floor under provincial revenues early on, then introduces a mechanism to capture upside if projects become materially more lucrative, while still preserving the ability to keep a simple capacity-based charge if that remains the more robust option.

 

Broader Resource Regulation and Changes to System Governance

 

Beyond offshore wind, the bill would repeal the Petroleum Resources Act and replace it with a Subsurface Energy Resource Extraction Act that covers both traditional resources such as onshore oil and gas and emerging areas including geothermal, natural hydrogen, helium, and carbon storage. In parallel, it adjusts the timeline and mandate for the Independent Energy System Operator, giving more time to complete the transition of staff, equipment, and responsibilities from Nova Scotia Power under the More Access to Energy Act, and enabling renewable electricity targets to be set for the system operator under the Electricity Act as it takes over clean energy procurement.

 

Timeline Reset and Utility Purchase Obligations

 

The deadline for completing the shift from Nova Scotia Power to the system operator would move from October 2026 to 1 May 2028, giving the province a longer runway to separate generation roles from procurement and system planning. The bill also clarifies that if Nova Scotia Power is granted a power purchase agreement for offshore wind, it must purchase all electricity specified in that agreement, a provision that reduces counterparty ambiguity for projects but also reinforces the utility’s obligation once a contractual pathway is established.