Energy policy in Nova Scotia: Eliminating the barrier to wind energy development

Wind power has environmental and social benefits relative to conventional electricity sources, but electricity market distortions hamper development. Nova Scotia's Energy Strategy in 2002 sought to address these distortions without success. To determine why some jurisdictions' energy policies are more successful than others, I map the relationship over time between the energy policies of the most successful jurisdictions to their impact on wind power development. These case studies reveal successful policy requires long-term focus, reform of regulations governing project development, public investment in practical research, and strong political commitment to market-pull measures. Application of best practices in Nova Scotia requires political determination of priorities. Different policy tools have different impacts in terms of cost, equity, employment and wind power development. This study makes explicit the trade-offs of different policy tools for Nova Scotia to facilitate informed decision-making.