by Dan Roscoe, President of Renewall
Generations ago, many provinces began their clean electricity transition by building significant hydroelectric systems. Nova Scotia has no comparable head start. Our clean energy future has to be constructed through new wind and solar generation, battery storage, transmission, grid upgrades and better ways for customers to use and buy electricity.
National targets will ultimately be tested in provinces where fossil generation still plays a large role and the work of replacing it is happening now.
This is a difficult transition, but one with national value.
Nova Scotia still relies heavily on coal, natural gas and oil. According to the province’s latest climate progress report, renewables supplied around 40 per cent of its electricity in 2024. Non-renewable sources supplied over half of the province’s electricity, including 33 per cent from coal and 21 per cent from natural gas and oil.
Closing that gap while protecting reliability and affordability is difficult on a small grid exposed to severe Atlantic weather. Canada’s progress cannot be understood solely through the results of hydro-rich provinces. It also depends on places that must replace fossil generation, connect new supply and modernize the system at the same time.
Nova Scotia is now working from a concrete plan. The province is phasing out coal and targeting 80 per cent clean electricity by 2030. Its Clean Power Plan calls for nearly 2,000 megawatts of wind, solar and battery storage, a stronger transmission connection with New Brunswick, demand-response pilots and grid modernization. The target is attached to a build list and a reliability strategy.
Nova Scotia has some of Canada’s strongest wind resources. Developing them can replace imported fossil fuels with electricity produced closer to the people and organizations using it, while preparing for growing demand as transportation, heating and industry electrify.
Mersey River Wind shows what that work looks like on the ground. Located near Milton in Queens County, the project will include 33 turbines with a combined capacity of 148.5 megawatts. It is expected to generate enough electricity to power more than 50,000 homes and avoid approximately 220,000 tonnes of emissions each year. Construction is underway, with the first turbines expected to operate in 2027.
The project also has a defined route to customers. Nova Scotia’s Renewable-to-Retail framework allows licensed retail suppliers to sell renewable electricity directly to consumers. Through Renewall, Nova Scotians will be able to choose electricity generated by Mersey River Wind. That creates a clear connection between a local project and the demand helping to support it.
Renewall’s founding customers have different reasons for choosing renewable electricity.
Killam Apartment REIT plans to purchase emissions-free electricity for its Nova Scotia apartment and manufactured home community portfolio. The company has connected that decision to stable long-term pricing and its 2030 greenhouse gas and carbon-intensity targets. Halifax Regional Municipality sees its agreement as a way to advance HalifACT, support locally generated electricity and plan municipal energy costs with greater predictability.
For White Point Beach Resort, rate stability supports business planning while renewable wind power fits its commitments as a Green Key accommodation property. The Old Orchard Inn places Renewall alongside its solar array, electric-vehicle charging, composting and building-efficiency work. The Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation, with more than 100 stores, is incorporating the agreement into a broader effort to embed sustainability across its operations.
These are operating decisions made by a landlord, a municipality, hotels and a provincial retailer. Their participation gives renewable development a customer base and gives each organization a practical way to pursue its own financial and environmental goals.
But, Renewable-to-Retail is just one of several models Nova Scotia is putting to work. The Community Solar Program has approved 9.25 megawatts across four projects, including partnerships with Potlotek First Nation and the Multicultural Association of Cape Breton. Offshore wind planning is moving through regulatory and procurement work of its own.
These initiatives test different forms of access, ownership and local benefit. They show who can participate, how projects can be financed and how new supply reaches customers.
The next stage of Canada’s electricity transition involves replacing fossil generation, expanding grids, integrating variable resources and storage, managing costs and protecting reliability. Nova Scotia is addressing all five within one compact system.
The province has not completed that work. Yet. Its value as a national example comes from the work now underway. Progress can be seen in turbines under construction, storage and transmission projects advancing, customers signing long-term agreements and meaningful partnerships with First Nations communities.
Canada’s clean energy future will be assembled through local decisions shaped by different resources and constraints. In Nova Scotia, those decisions are creating cleaner local supply and new ways for people and organizations to choose it.
Canada should watch closely because, while the challenge is difficult, the work is visible and the lessons will travel.
Dan Roscoe is the President of Renewall Energy, a renewable energy provider, and CEO of Roswall Development, a renewable energy developer, both based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. His work is focused on building the infrastructure for a cleaner, smarter energy future across Canada and beyond.
