Offshore Wind Energy

Wind turbines are already a well-known technology. The idea is simple: the kinetic energy in the wind turns blades around a rotor, creating electricity. But offshore wind is different.

Offshore wind speeds tend to be faster. And faster wind speeds mean exponentially more energy: a turbine in a 20km/h wind generates twice as much energy as the same turbine in a 15km/h wind.

Offshore wind speeds also tend to be steadier. Steadier means more reliable. And while offshore wind levels vary, they are more easily forecast – up to several days in advance.

It’s also relatively easy to transport large components by sea, making it easier to build bigger turbines, and capture more energy. And while the blades can be longer, the towers can be shorter, because open water is free of the vegetation and topography that create wind shear and turbulence over land.

Foundation Technology

 The foundations currently used for offshore wind projects include:

  • Mono pile: A steel pile driven approx. 10-20m into the seabed.
  • Gravity: The most common offshore wind foundation, the gravity foundation is a large concrete or steel base that rest on the seabed and is dependent on gravity to remain erect.
  • Tripod: Based on technology for the oil and gas industry, tripod piles are typically driven 10-20m into the seabed, depending on soil conditions. Designed for deeper depths, the tripod has not been used on many projects to date.
Progression of expected wind turbine evolution to deeper water. Produced by National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

Floating offshore wind is also emerging as a future, game-changing technology. In water deeper than 50m, floating turbines offer access to large areas with a strong wind resource. Up to 80% of the world’s offshore wind resource is water deeper than 60m.

For some countries, such as those with a narrow continental shelf, floating foundations offer the only opportunity for large-scale offshore wind deployment. Large potential markets like Japan and the United States possess few shallow-water sites suitable for offshore wind development – floating offshore wind could make enormous renewable uptake possible.

Offshore wind is still a young technology. But in time, even in mid-depth conditions (30-50m), floating platforms may offer a lower-cost alternative to fixed-bottom foundations, given the potential for standardization of foundation designs and the use of low-cost, readily available installation vessels.

Offshore Wind Market

Canada possesses world-class offshore wind resources, with promising locations across its Atlantic, Pacific, and Great Lakes coasts. The most favorable opportunities are found along the Atlantic coast, particularly Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador, where strong and consistent wind speeds (averaging 9-11 m/s) coincide with suitable shallow-water sites ideal for fixed-bottom turbine deployment and deep-water sites to unlock the full potential of the resource and enable larger supply chain and workforce opportunities.

Recent resource assessments suggest an offshore wind potential of up to 938 GW in Nova Scotia alone, vastly exceeding current national electricity demand. The Great Lakes region also presents major opportunity, with estimates of 160 GW for fixed-bottom installations and approximately 415 GW for floating wind systems, where wind speeds regularly exceed 9 meters per second. In addition, deep-water areas such as the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the Pacific coast have been identified as suitable for emerging floating wind technology.

Since 2022, the governments of Canada, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland and Labrador have been working to establish an offshore wind industry. Significant progress has been made, including:

Nova Scotia has taken significant strides towards future development of offshore wind, setting a 5 GW target of offshore wind leasing by 2030 to drive industry investment and growth. To support this goal, the Province has also launched several enabling initiatives including the Nova Scotia Offshore Wind Roadmap, the designation of Wind Energy Areas, and Wind West, an initiative aimed at establishing the electricity infrastructure to export up to 60+ GW of electricity produced from offshore wind projects. More information about these initiatives can be found here.

Offshore wind also presents opportunity for Canadian companies to provide skills and services to projects at home and internationally. Globally, offshore wind continues to scale rapidly, with 83 GW of installed capacity worldwide and approximately 8 GW of new capacity added in 2024. China accounts for roughly half of cumulative global installations, followed by the United Kingdom, Germany, and the Netherlands. To help Canadian companies seize business opportunities, Marine Renewables Canada commissioned a supply chain assessment, detailing the components of an offshore supply chain and strengths of Canadian companies to participate in projects.