Offshore wind has evolved. When will Ontario’s policy?

In 2011, when the Government of Ontario imposed a moratorium on offshore wind power in the Great Lakes, the policy reflected a reasonable lack of evidence about environmental and health impacts in freshwater systems. Fifteen years later, many of the unanswered questions have been studied and engineered into answers. Offshore wind is no longer an emerging technology. It’s a mature global industry shaped by innovation in turbine design, environmental monitoring, and responsible site development.

Today’s turbines are larger, slower-turning, and more efficient; their design reduces collision risk for birds and bats while generating more power per installation. Advanced monopiles and foundation designs improve stability and limit seabed and other environmental disturbances, even in complex freshwater conditions where shoreline ice formations are a factor. Installations now use proven technologies like real-time environmental monitoring, radar-triggered shutdowns during peak bird migration, and collision avoidance systems. High-resolution wildlife surveys and multi-season baseline environmental data now guide precise site selection, long before construction begins.

While Europe surges ahead and Atlantic Canada launches competitive offshore wind processes, Ontario is stalled by a politically biased policy that is stuck in the past.

What is holding Ontario back?

Policy and regulatory paralysis — the moratorium is the single constraint. It creates complete permitting uncertainty, which means no developer can finalize site control, secure financing, or progress environmental studies. When it was instated in 2011, the moratorium froze several proposals that already had contracts in place—including one with an offtake agreement from the Ontario Power Authority (now part of the IESO). Until the province lifts the moratorium and reinstates a permitting pathway, nothing else can advance.

Public and political opposition — perceptions of risk to wildlife, viewsheds, noise, and cumulative impacts have delayed wind projects or stopped them outright. The Lake Erie “Icebreaker Wind” project, for instance, was halted in 2023 after years of legal and political obstacles that contributed to rising development costs—a cautionary lesson for Ontario. Public distrust and skepticism have grown across North America, even as Europe and Asia continue to scale offshore wind using proven technologies.

To move projects forward at scale, developers must initiate early community engagement alongside sustained partnership building and consultation with First Nations, Métis, and other rightsholders. Developers are taking note that recent IESO-selected renewable energy projects have at least 50% participation from Indigenous groups and understand the importance of early and deep collaboration to enable co-development of projects. Outreach should begin before the ban is lifted, focusing on building partnerships with shared project goals, and an understanding of why new energy sources such as offshore wind are required, and who the key proponents in the Ontario energy sector are, such as the IESO and OEB. The path forward should focus on transparent communications that explain science and engineering, with verified mitigation solutions.

Technical, environmental, and infrastructure constraints — the Great Lakes present engineering and logistics hurdles such as ice loading, freshwater corrosion profiles, unique bathymetry, and the need for purpose-built installation ports, heavy lift capacity on vessels that fit the St. Lawrence Seaway locks, and large component staging areas. These challenges are drivers of increased planning to overcome the hurdles; they are not reasons to avoid conversations on a path forward. Canadian offshore experts warn that without early alignment on high voltage transmission and significant port upgrades, new electrons risk being stranded offshore before they are even generated. Federal technology scans emphasize the importance of selecting the right foundation (e.g. monopile, jackets, suction bucket) and running full site characterization programs tailored to local conditions.

Developers should plan for the moratorium's eventual end with baseline environmental surveys needed for any permitting requirements, and initial design criteria that imbed Great Lakes ecosystem protection as a core completions requirement. They should also do their homework on the overall economic and social benefits of offshore wind projects. How will they impact job creation, supply chain advancements, infrastructure deployments, and regional economic development? With these in hand, they’re ready to take action once the ban is lifted.

Steps Ontario must take immediately after the ban is lifted

Step 1: Open a clear approvals lane and launch baseline studies

Day 1 after a moratorium lift, the province should publish an interim regulatory roadmap aligned with federal guidance (environmental impact assessments, marine spatial planning, and site characterization protocols). This includes regulatory alignment with recently proposed federal government legislative, regulatory, and policy reforms for major projects that aim to streamline and accelerate offshore renewable energy project approvals by the Canada Energy Regulator. Immediate fieldwork—avian, bat, fish, benthic, noise, sediment, and ice—and supply chain assessments must begin to build the evidence record Ontario said it lacked in 2011, and advance comfort levels with regulators, communities, and rightsholders. This is the predicate for any credible project schedule.

Step 2: Prioritize site identification and feasibility

Developers should launch metocean campaigns and complete geophysical and geotechnical surveys early to define design envelopes for foundations, scour protection, and cable burial. These help de-risk freshwater ice behavior. Experience from US Great Lakes projects shows that delays at this stage quickly escalate costs. Developers should set clear feasibility gates that align technology choices (fixed or floating) with water depth, substrate, construction windows, and available installation technologies.

Step 3: Move grid and port planning to the front of the queue

Ontario must launch interconnection studies early and identify viable HVDC and HVAC corridors to major load centers, while advancing a ports strategy capable of handling blades, nacelles, towers, and foundation substructure assemblies. No regional port is currently “gigawatt ready”, and unresolved transmission constraints will strand capacity.

Critical supply chain assessments should also be advanced, with a focus on the potential to leverage domestic producers of key materials, such as Canadian steel. These long lead investments require early commitment by suppliers and developers, who will only advance such decisions with a reliable regulatory environment. None of these items should be treated as secondary or an afterthought.

Ontario has the engineering strength—what it needs now is political will

Canada brings a deep engineering bench to offshore wind. Ontario-based firms with integrated expertise in renewable energy, grid interconnections, and coastal delivery can leverage their experience with Indigenous partnerships, environmental science, regulatory navigation, socioeconomic optimization, power system planning, and heavy infrastructure project execution under one roof. This combined capability shortens critical paths, manages risk earlier, builds economic opportunities, and fosters trust with regulators, communities, and rightsholders. On the Great Lakes—where environmental sensitivity and public confidence matter as much as technical performance—this approach is essential to earning social license and delivering projects responsibly.

The case for acting now is clear. Electrification, new industrial and data center loads, and climate commitments are accelerating demand for clean, reliable power. Meanwhile, offshore wind has long passed the pilot and trial stages of technology maturity, continuing to scale rapidly in leading global markets as costs fall and delivery models mature. Ottawa has begun organizing the pre-development work through federal programs, but Ontario has remained on the sidelines. Each year of delay makes it harder to secure supply chains, installation vessels, and competitive financing as faster-moving jurisdictions lock them in.

If Ontario is serious about clean economic growth, job creation, grid resilience, and investing in major energy infrastructure, it needs to lift the moratorium. It needs to publish a time-bound approvals roadmap, and launch coordinated environmental baseline, site, port, and transmission studies within the subsequent 90 days. Developers, Indigenous partners, and engineers should form early alliances that link science, engagement, grid planning, and delivery—bringing communities into the process from the start with transparent messaging and clear local benefits from long-term Great Lakes stewardship.

The Great Lakes are not a science project; they are a strategic asset to be leveraged responsibly. It’s time for Ontario to shift the conversation from whether wind turbines belong on the horizon, to how they can deliver clean, reliable power to Ontario businesses, factories, and homes.