Notice of Offshore Renewable Energy Prohibition Order Respecting the Georges Bank Prohibition Area
On March 4, 2025, the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Energy Regulator (CNSOER) received joint direction from The Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, Federal Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, and The Honourable Trevor Boudreau, Provincial Minister of Energy, to issue an order that prohibits the issuance of submerged land licences (SLL) within the Georges Bank Prohibition Area, as described in Schedule IV of the Accord Acts.
The Ministers’ joint direction letter to the CNSOER is provided below:
Read the Ministers’ news release on the Moratorium on Offshore Wind Development in Georges Bank.
On March 7, 2025, the CNSOER issued a Prohibition Order pursuant to sections 60(1A) and 57(1.1) of the Accord Acts which prohibits the issuance of submerged land licences for the purposes of carrying out offshore renewable energy projects over the portions of the offshore area known as the Georges Bank Prohibition Area as defined in Schedule IV of the Accord Acts for a period beginning on March 7, 2025, and ending on December 31, 2032.
The CNSOER’s Prohibition Order is provided below:
About the Regulator:
The Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Energy Regulator is an independent joint agency created by the Governments of Canada and Nova Scotia, and responsible for the regulation of offshore energy development in the Canada-Nova Scotia offshore area.
For more information:
Colleen Fiske
Advisor, Communications
Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board
info@cnsoer.ca