Equinor Should Be Looking into Offshore Wind in NL Not the Economically Futile Bay du Nord
Sierra Club Canada Questions Viability of Bay du Nord Based on Research by Multiple Analysts – Urges Focus on Renewable Solutions Instead
Media Release: For Immediate Release, February 11th, 2026
Sierra Club Canada, citing reports from the Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility (ACCR) and Carbon Tracker as well as analysis by Oil Change International and others, says there is now more evidence than ever that Equinor’s Bay du Nord project simply is not viable economically as the world rapidly shifts to renewables. They point to the need for a rapid investment in renewable options here at home instead, so that NL and Canada can compete in the modern – electric – energy landscape.
“Equinor should be looking into offshore wind not offshore oil. We are seeing other governments like the UK come out with ambitious renewable energy plans (1),” says Sierra Club Canada’s NL Energy Transition and Advocacy Coordinator Kassandra Drodge, whose home is St. John’s, and who is currently attending the Canadian Renewable Energy Association (CANRea) Operators Summit 2026.
“When we talk about the future of employment in the province we have to aim for where things are going to be – with sectors like offshore wind that are a major focus of the summit I am at – and train people for that rapidly developing future. There is an entire showroom on offshore wind here and the possibilities are frankly excitingly overwhelming. In my work we are seeing excitement across the province as well for these new solutions.”
Sierra Club Canada is continuing its work to research and highlight renewable alternatives and electrification solutions for both revenue and jobs: from longer term projects in the conceptual phase, like a Newfoundland and Labrador to the United Kingdom / EU electric transmission cable (2), to community-based renewable solutions that could start being rolled out tomorrow (3).
A November 2025 report by the UK-based Carbon Tracker shows a stark picture of the revenue losses provincial governments will face in the next decade as oil and gas demand dries up globally:
- “By 85% in Alberta, from $153 billion to $23 billion;
- By 72% in British Columbia, from $47 billion to $13 billion;
- By 78% in Saskatchewan, from $16 billion to $3.5 billion;
- By nearly 100% in Newfoundland and Labrador, from $4.4 billion to $300 million.” (4)
A separate report by the ACCR assessed ten major oil and gas companies, including Equinor, and found that:
“Global conventional oil and gas exploration is becoming less successful, more expensive and is taking longer. Project execution – a critical driver of value – has typically been poor, with projects delivered late and over budget. The addressable market for oil and gas is diminishing as more sectors electrify. Despite this, the oil and gas majors are assuming that oil prices in 2030 will be around 17% higher than those implied by the forward curve….
Despite the rhetoric on capital discipline, the oil and gas sector is continuing to bet on a future that may never arrive.” (5)
As Oil Change International pointed out, recent claims that oil and gas demand would continue to grow globally past the early 2030s are based on a single, faulty, scenario that the International Energy Agency (IEA) had previously abandoned and only re-published following pressure from the current U.S. Administration:
“A peak in fossil fuels is still expected under the baseline trajectory of STEPS, which sees a near-tripling of renewable capacity by 2035, even after accounting for U.S. policy backsliding. The IEA [still] expects coal to decline before 2030, oil to peak around 2030, and gas to peak around 2035…. Crucially, the IEA clarifies that the Current Policies Scenario (CPS), an obsolete, fossil-fuel heavy scenario reintroduced under U.S. pressure, does not reflect ‘business-as-usual’. Instead, it implausibly assumes that existing policies and technology trends freeze or roll back, portraying a U.S. administration fantasy rather than the reality of today’s rapidly evolving energy market.” (6)
Indeed, as countries attempt to insulate themselves from the volatility and national security risks of relying on oil and gas, volatility and risks made even more prominent by a chaotic and aggressive U.S. Government, we can expect them to accelerate their renewable energy transitions rather than slow them down. No one wants to rely on oil and gas resources whose prices and availability are heavily influenced by an aggressive foreign government, when they can build out localized – domestically controlled – renewable energy sources instead.
Angela Antle, writing in a local publication The Independent NL, examined how oil and gas corporations have cut jobs, even when production increases, and how the contribution to local and national economies from the oil and gas sector in terms of jobs has been inflated. Antle argues that:
“The International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) found that Newfoundland and Labrador subsidized fossil fuel companies to the tune of $82 million in 2020-2021 and even more the following year…. Instead of throwing taxpayer subsidies at an incredibly profitable oil company like Equinor—whose gross profits for the 12 months ending Sept. 30, 2025 was $53.8 billion—surely using that money to help workers transition to job market realities is a far better use of public money.” (7)
As energy journalist Mitchell Beer wrote in a similar assessment:
“Every fossil company everywhere wants investors, governments, and citizens to think, even against the thinnest of evidence, it will be the last one standing as its business steadily crashes. But times are already tough, and the tell comes from two of the industry’s biggest voices: a branch of the U.S. Federal Reserve, and the world’s oil and gas cartel…. The problem is that citizens, rather than fossil companies and their shareholders, might be stuck picking up the tab.” (8)
Sources:
(1) https://www.neso.energy/news/unveiling-new-project-pipeline-deliver-clean-power-2030
(2) https://www.sierraclub.ca/newfoundland-and-labrador-europe-electric-transmission/ AND https://nato-l.com/
(3) https://www.sierraclub.ca/community-drive-transition-renewables/
(4) https://www.theenergymix.com/breaking-with-pipeline-deal-coming-soon-new-analysis-shows-big-risks-for-investors-crushing-losses-for-provinces/ AND https://carbontracker.org/reports/petro-provinces-at-risk/
(5) https://www.accr.org.au/research/when-growth-no-longer-pays-re-thinking-value-for-oil-and-gas-companies/
(6) https://oilchange.org/news/weo-shows-oil-and-coal-still-set-to-peak-contrary-to-u-s-pushed-narrative-but-urgent-action-needed-to-speed-fossil-fuel-phase-out-to-keep-1-5oc-alive/
(7) https://theindependent.ca/commentary/energy-futures/why-taxpayer-subsidies-for-big-oil-wont-create-more-jobs/
(8) https://energymixweekender.substack.com/p/oil-is-faltering-renewables-will
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