Bits to the UK, Not Electrons to Ontario: Leveraging Nova Scotia's Offshore Wind

If Nova Scotia develops offshore wind, its greatest export opportunity may not be electrons but data.

Why? Building long-distance power lines is hugely expensive, while fiber-optic cables are far cheaper. And data moves across oceans with negligible loss.

Meanwhile, electricity in the UK costs nearly 3× Ontario’s and supply is tight. Offshore wind is costly to build, so it needs premium markets. Running high-end computing in Nova Scotia and exporting the results to the UK may add far more value per kilowatt-hour than simply sending power west.

Nova Scotia is already plugged into the UK through high-capacity fiber cables. By exporting digital services, it can help the UK ease its energy crunch, while building a new export industry in tech and services beyond commodities.

What needs to happen for offshore wind to be built in Nova Scotia is greater commercial certainty for developers. Could the UK government backstop Nova Scotia-based data centres as part of its strategy to ease supply constraints at home? I think it’s worth exploring.