News release

Amendments to Marine Renewable-energy Act

Natural Resources and Renewables

The government has introduced amendments to the Marine Renewable-energy Act that will improve the regulatory framework for the tidal industry.

Based on feedback from the industry and four years of experience with the Demonstration Permit Program, the amendments will provide greater clarity about the act’s licensing system and improve the permit program.

“Nova Scotia continues to be a leader in developing tidal energy technology and research, and these amendments will help keep us there,” said Tory Rushton, Minister of Natural Resources and Renewables. “This industry has enormous potential for our province as a clean source of energy, as a job creator in rural areas and as an opportunity to build expertise and exportable green technology.”

The amendments, tabled in the legislature today, March 24, will allow multiple projects to share subsea infrastructure, such as moorings or anchors, to reduce project costs. They will add greater clarity around the rights provided with a license and the geographic area of a licence.

There are also improvements to the Demonstration Permit Program that will create a competitive evaluation process instead of providing permits on a first-come, first-served basis. The process will ensure the projects that offer the best value to Nova Scotians are approved.

A demonstration permit is a type of marine renewable-energy permit that allows project developers to test or demonstrate new ways of generating marine renewable energy. With a demonstration permit, a developer can deploy and connect a device to the province’s electrical grid. A demonstration project is allowed up to 5 megawatts of new generating capacity, with a total of 10 megawatts available under the program.

Quick Facts:

  • project developers can also apply for a permit to test devices that do not connect to the electrical grid
  • the Province has issued permits to five companies for a total of 10MWs
  • Nova Scotia is a leader in fighting climate change setting the most ambitious emission reduction targets in the country
  • other amendments are mainly administrative

Additional Resources:

Bills tabled in the legislature this spring are available at: https://nslegislature.ca/legislative-business/bills-statutes/bills/assembly-64-session-1