Regional Assessment of Offshore Wind Development in Newfoundland and Labrador: Draft Offshore Wind Licencing 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.

Organization: Impact Assessment Agency of Canada | Agence d'évaluation d'impact du Canada