Legislation enabling the development of the offshore wind industry in Atlantic Canada has become law after receiving royal assent on Oct. 3.
Nova Scotia Natural Resources Minister Tory Rushton said Bill C-49 will allow the province to meet its "offshore wind targets."
"Now that this bill has passed, along with our own provincial mirror legislation, we are well on our way to developing our offshore wind industry hand in hand with our federal partners, starting with issuing our first call for bids next year," he said in the release.
Newfoundland and Labrador's Minister of Industry, Energy and Technology Andrew Parsons said the legislation will provide "maximum economic returns" for the province.
She said the bill would "subject offshore renewable energy to the same web of uncertain regulations, long and costly timelines and political decision-making that has driven hundreds of billions of dollars in private sector energy investment, hundreds of businesses and hundreds of thousands of energy jobs out of Canada and into other jurisdictions around the world."