IS Report NS

TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 The Shift to Net Zero: The Need for Innovation 2 Overcoming Barriers to Innovation Deployment 4 What are Innovation Sandboxes? 6 How we Design Innovation Sandboxes for Nova Scotia 7 Nova Scotia Opportunities and Barriers 10 An Innovation Sandbox for Nova Scotia 13 Next Steps The Shift to Net Zero: The Need for Innovation In April 2022, the federal government released its Emissi. [...] These workshops were designed to identify barriers to the deployment of low-carbon innovation in the province and inform the development of an Innovation Sandbox that could help meet the needs of Nova Scotia’s energy sector. [...] The primary objective of the Innovation Sandbox should be to promote the innovation energy systems that are needed to achieve Nova Scotia’s provincial emissions reduction targets and to help the province move towards a net-zero energy system along the legislated timeline. [...] To achieve this objective, the Innovation Sandbox should be designed to reduce the two primary barriers to low-carbon innovation in Nova Scotia that were identified by workshop participants: (1) an outdated regulatory system and lack of flexible regulations, and (2) the absence of a mechanism to facilitate meaningful collaboration. [...] Questions around the role and involvement of utilities and the regulator in the path to net zero will need to be asked and addressed.