This geospatial data depicts preliminary offshore wind licencing areas recommended by the Committee for the Regional Assessment of Offshore Wind Development in Newfoundland and Labrador (Committee). These areas were identified as an interim product during the Regional Assessment process. The Committee is tasked to complete its Regional Assessment Report by January 2025. As part of the terms of amended agreement set out by the Governments of Canada and Newfoundland and Labrador, the Committee submitted an interim report to Ministers on March 22, 2024. This report included a preliminary map of recommended areas for offshore wind. Based on work completed to date, the Committee has found these areas are where offshore wind development is most likely feasible and will have the least impact within offshore Newfoundland and Labrador. These areas are preliminary and will be refined throughout the remainder of the Regional Assessment. Through the Regional Assessment process, the Committee is providing federal and provincial Ministers with information, knowledge, and analysis regarding future offshore wind development. Their work is intended to inform and improve future planning, licencing, and impact assessment processes. Any offshore wind areas identified by the Committee do not reflect official offshore wind licencing areas. The Committee is providing these areas to Ministers for their consideration, as the offshore wind regulatory process is being established.

This map displays the risk of soil degradation by wind in the agricultural region of Alberta. Wind erosion is a concern because it reduces soil quality by removing soil nutrients, smaller soil particles and organic matter. Wind erosion can reduce air quality during extreme erosion events and also reduce water quality if eroded particles drift into streams and lakes. The map uses five classes to describe the wind erosion risk on bare, unprotected mineral soil: negligible, low, moderate, high and severe. This resource was created using ArcGIS. It was originally published as a print map in 1989.

This geospatial data depicts potential development areas (PDAs) recommended by the Committee for the Regional Assessment of Offshore Wind Development in Nova Scotia.The Committee for the Regional Assessment of Offshore Wind Development in Nova Scotia (Committee) provides federal and provincial Ministers with information, knowledge, and analysis regarding future offshore wind (OSW) development in Nova Scotia. Its work is intended to inform and improve future planning, licencing, permitting, and impact assessment processes.Under the Terms of Reference, the Committee submitted an interim report to Ministers on March 23, 2024. This report included the preliminary identification of recommended areas for potential future development areas (PFDAs) for offshore wind. Based on work completed since the interim report, the Committee issued its final report on January 23, 2025, which included refined development areas, the Potential Development Areas (PDAs). These PDAs are based on technical feasibility (using available information) and have the least impact on other offshore users. It should be noted that the PDAs are recommendations only and do not reflect official offshore wind energy areas.

This geospatial data depicts the Draft Offshore Wind Licencing Areas (Draft Areas) recommended by the Committee for the Regional Assessment of Offshore Wind Development in Newfoundland and Labrador (Committee).*Based on work completed to date, the Committee has found the Draft Areas are where offshore wind development would have the least impact within the Regional Assessment Focus Area. Identifying Areas:Section 6 of the Draft Regional Assessment Report (see Data Resources below) includes details on how the Draft Areas were identified. They are the result of the constraints analysis summarized below, with very little modification to area boundaries. The Committee successively removed areas from the Regional Assessment Focus Area (published on Open Government by the Impact Assessment Agency on December 1, 2023). Constraints analysis steps included: • Step 1: Creating Coastal Buffers.• Step 2: Removing Marine Critical Habitat.• Step 3: Removing Marine Protected Areas. • Step 4: Removing Marine Traffic Routes.• Step 5: Removing Areas with High Vessel Traffic.• Step 6: Removing the South Coast Fjords NMCA Study Area.• Step 7: Removing Areas around National Parks & World Heritage Sites.• Step 8: Removing High Density Fishing Areas.• Step 9: Removing Community-based Coastal Resources.An Iterative Process:Identifying offshore wind licencing areas is an iterative process. On March 22, 2024, the Committee submitted its Interim Report to Ministers. This report included a preliminary map of recommended areas for offshore wind development licencing. The preliminary areas were updated based on engagement outcomes, additional data and analysis submitted to the Committee by Regional Assessment participants, and additional research and analysis completed by the Committee between March and October 2024. On October 1, 2024, the Committee’s Draft Report, including updated offshore wind areas, was published for a public comment period. The Draft Areas supersede the Preliminary Offshore Wind Licencing Areas. The Draft Areas are also subject to change. The Committee will submit its Final Report and Initial Offshore Wind Licencing Areas for Consideration to Ministers on or before January 23, 2025. The Committee recommends that regulators consider the forthcoming Initial Offshore Wind Energy Licencing Areas, and the Committee’s report to Ministers, to help inform offshore wind development licencing areas in the region.Latest Update:The Committee’s Final Report and final version of Initial Offshore Wind Energy Licencing Areas for Consideration were submitted to Ministers on January 23, 2025. This completes the Committee’s mandate. Ministers may also choose to make the final versions of these areas available following the Regional Assessment. However, no changes have been made to the geospatial data representing the Draft Areas (published here).Please note the Committee updated the term “Initial Offshore Wind Energy Licencing Areas for Consideration” in the final iteration of their work to better communicate the areas it identified are not licencing areas but are a starting point to help inform the selection of licencing areas. Previous iterations of these areas were called Preliminary Offshore Wind Licencing Areas and Draft Offshore Wind Licencing Areas.*Regional Assessment Background: The federal Ministers of Environment and of Natural Resources, and the provincial Ministers of Industry, Energy and Technology, of Environment and Climate Change, and of Intergovernmental Affairs (Ministers) are signatory to the Regional Assessment Agreement. The goal of the Regional Assessment is to provide information to federal and provincial governments to help them plan for offshore wind development in Newfoundland and Labrador, and complete impact assessments of offshore wind projects. Federal and provincial Ministers appointed an independent committee, comprising five members of diverse backgrounds and expertise to conduct the assessment.

Depicts priority area for work under the Regional Assessment of Offshore Wind Development in Newfoundland and Labrador. The Committee for the Regional Assessment of Offshore Wind Development in Newfoundland and Labrador (Committee) is responsible for providing information, knowledge and analysis regarding future offshore wind development (OSW) to inform and improve future planning, licencing and impact assessment processes. The Committee’s mandate is set out in the Agreement to Conduct the Regional Assessment of Offshore Wind Development in Newfoundland and Labrador (Agreement), and includes assessing potential environmental, health, social and economic effects of future OSW. The Agreement includes a broad Study Area. In November 2023, the Committee determined OSW interest in the foreseeable future is more likely within a portion of the Study Area set out in the Agreement. The Committee defined this portion of the Study Area as the assessment's Focus Area. The Committee continues to conduct the Regional Assessment (i.e., present information on existing conditions and consider potential impacts of OSW) within the Focus Area. The Committee's decision to define the Focus Area and supporting rationale is available here: https://iaac-aeic.gc.ca/050/evaluations/document/153431 The Agreement to conduct the Regional Assessment is available here: https://iaac-aeic.gc.ca/050/documents/p84343/147037E.pdf

The wind speed layer shows the modeled wind speed [m/s] at a height of 100 m above ground level, at each grid point, averaged over the three year period from January 1, 2008 to December 31, 2010. Values are presented in bins with ranges of 0.5 m/s each. Further details including data at different heights, and for individual years, can be obtained by clicking on the dot representing the grid point location.

Study Area defined in the Agreement to Conduct a Regional Assessment of Offshore Wind Development in Nova Scotia. The study area was created by the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada in collaboration with Natural Resources Canada and the province of Nova Scotia.

The wind power density layer shows the modeled wind power density [W/m2] at a height of 100 m above ground level, at each grid point, averaged over the three year period from January 1, 2008 to December 31, 2010. Values are presented in bins with ranges of 0.5 W/m2 each. Further details including data at different heights, and for individual years, can be obtained by clicking on the dot representing the grid point location.

Monthly, seasonal and annual trends of mean wind speed change (kilometres per hour) based on homogenized station data (AHCCD) are available. Trends are calculated using the Theil-Sen method using the station’s full period of available data. The availability of surface wind speed trends will vary by station; if more than 5 consecutive years are missing data or more than 10% of the data within the time series is missing, a trend was not calculated.

Study Area defined in the Agreement to Conduct a Regional Assessment of Offshore Wind Development in Newfoundland and Labrador. The study area was created by the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada in collaboration with Natural Resources Canada and the province of Newfoundland and Labrador.