MONTPELIER, Vt. — Gov. Phil Scott and Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston signed a three-year agreement Wednesday to cooperate on clean energy, including exploring ways to deliver electricity from Nova Scotia's offshore wind resources to New England, the governor's office said.

According to the governor's office, the memorandum of understanding sets up a framework for the two governments to work together on offshore wind energy, electricity transmission planning and regional grid integration, and to share information.

"As a small state, we can't generate affordable, clean and reliable energy alone, which is why regional partnerships are critical to reaching our goals," Scott said in a statement. He said the agreement would let the two jurisdictions explore combining their strengths "in a way that keeps costs down for ratepayers."

Houston said Nova Scotia has "one of the best offshore wind resources in the world" and called the agreement "another important step" as the province builds connections with energy partners and advances what he called Wind West.

The governor's office said the agreement could give Vermont access to new sources of clean, competitively priced power that could help hold down electricity costs and improve reliability as demand grows. Paired with a modernized Highgate Converter, a high-voltage direct current station in Franklin County that links the New England and Canadian grids and moves power in both directions, such deliveries would reinforce Vermont's role as a link between the two grids, the office said.

For Nova Scotia, the office said, the agreement supports efforts to grow the province's offshore wind industry and expand its electricity connections, and access to New England markets could bring investment and jobs to the province.

The governor's office did not announce any financial commitments, specific projects or timelines for power deliveries.

This brief was drafted by AI from a public agency or political press release and published by The New England Signal. Why we use AI for stories like this one.