French renewable energy firm aims to develop offshore wind in Nova Scotia

A French firm and its partner in South Korea are eyeing plans to develop wind projects off Nova Scotia’s coast.

Affiliated companies Q Energy France and Hanwha Ocean said Wednesday they have jointly participated in the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Energy Regulator’s pre-qualification process that precedes a call for bids for seabed licenses to develop offshore wind.

The offshore regulator says the purpose of the pre-qualification process is to review and identify eligible companies that can participate in the next call for bids.

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Junu Lee, CEO of Q Energy, says the company hopes to contribute to Canada and Nova Scotia’s transition to clean energy through large-scale and sustainable offshore wind development.

Colleen Fiske, a spokesperson for Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Energy Regulator, says the regulator will not be sharing the number of applications received through the pre-qualification process nor names of companies that applied.

In June, Premier Tim Houston said the province’s plan to license enough offshore wind farms to produce five gigawatts of electricity would be increased eightfold to 40 megawatts, well beyond the 2.4 megawatts Nova Scotia needs.

He called on Ottawa to help cover the costs of his new Wind West project, saying the excess electricity could be used to supply 27 per cent of Canada’s total demand.