The Canada Offshore Renewable Energy Regulations (SOR/2024-272) provide a comprehensive framework for regulating offshore renewable energy (ORE) projects and offshore power lines in Canada’s federal offshore areas. These regulations, stemming from Part 5 of the Canadian Energy Regulator Act (CER Act), address the full life cycle of ORE projects, from initial site assessment to decommissioning. The CER Act, enacted in 2019, established the Canada Energy Regulator (CER) and provided a legislative framework for overseeing offshore renewable energy. However, the Act did not offer detailed technical requirements for project operators. The Canada Offshore Renewable Energy Regulations bridge this gap by setting out clear safety, security, and environmental protection standards for operators seeking authorization to undertake work related to ORE projects.

The primary purpose of the regulations is to ensure that the development and operation of ORE projects in Canada’s offshore areas are carried out safely and sustainably. This includes addressing environmental protection, public safety, and infrastructure security, thus providing the certainty necessary for the ORE industry to grow in Canada. The regulations are designed to be flexible, supporting innovation and the use of new technologies while maintaining high safety and environmental standards.

The need for the regulations arose from the growing importance of offshore renewable energy, particularly offshore wind, which has become a major player in the global energy transition. ORE technologies harness energy from ocean-based resources such as wind, waves, tides, and currents. The offshore wind industry, in particular, has seen rapid growth, with global capacity increasing significantly in recent years. Offshore wind is seen as a critical component in meeting climate goals due to its ability to generate large amounts of renewable energy.

Canada’s vast coastlines offer significant potential for offshore renewable energy, and harnessing this potential could contribute significantly to Canada’s goal of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. ORE also represents a major economic opportunity for coastal provinces and communities, with the potential to stimulate clean energy industries and create jobs. The CER Act, which came into force in 2019, laid the foundation for the regulation of offshore renewable energy projects by transferring oversight to the CER, which is responsible for issuing authorizations and ensuring compliance with safety, security, and environmental standards.

In 2024, Bill C-49 received Royal Assent, which amended the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Resources Accord and the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Atlantic Accord to include offshore renewable energy in the respective joint-management areas of these regions. This expansion of regulatory authority requires additional regulations specific to these regions to ensure that safety, security, and environmental protection standards are met. Once the new legislation is in force, the CER Act will no longer apply in these joint-management areas, and new regulations will be developed under the amended Accord Acts to regulate offshore renewable energy projects.

Canada (SOR/2024-272) January 1, 2025