Read Senator Mitchell’s speech about geothermal energy here:http://senatorgrantmitchell.ca/speeches/20034.aspx
Not a CanGEA member? We’d really like to hear from you.
What do you know about us?That’s the question we’re trying to answer with a survey we’ve just created. We’d love for you to take this short survey to give us a general indication of how much you know about us and how effectively we’re communicating about geothermal in Canada. Take the survey by using the link below: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/7YBK2XC Also, if you haven’t already heard about the crowd funding campaign we’re running right now to raise money to do the policy work that will remove the barriers preventing geothermal energy from becoming true industry in Canada, please visit the powEARTHful Energy campaign now. “The Chair of the Standing Committee on Natural Resources, MP Leon Benoit, recently indicated that the government is not prepared to invest in geothermal until they see a “good, proven plan.” CanGEA has been diligently working on such a plan over the past two years. Despite our persistence, it remains uncertain whether Western Economic Diversification Canada will financially support the Canadian Geothermal Energy Industry Technology Roadmap & Implementation Plan (TRM&IP). At this time, CanGEA vitally needs financial support so that it can complete the TRM&IP and press the federal, provincial, and territorial governments for the legislative and financial support that will allow the industry to gain a foothold in Canada.”
Click here to read the rest of the Open Letter. First, CanGEA would like to announce that the dates and venue for their 2014 Annual Conference have been confirmed for March 26-28th, 2014 at the Alberta Innovates Technology Futures (AITF) Building in Calgary, Alberta.
As if the lure of a great event such as our annual conference wasn’t enough, we’ve got an even better deal to announce to you… As a potential international attendee, we would like to extend a generous offer to you: 50% off of transportation (such as airfare and taxi cabs), as well as up to $200/day for expenses such as food and hotel accommodation. If you’re interested in attending the event and taking advantage of this great offer, please contact us to find out more information about how this program works. We can’t wait to see you there! CanGEA is proud to announce that the dates and venue for their 2014 Annual Conference have been confirmed.
The Conference will be happening on Friday March 28, 2014. Canadian Geothermal Industry/Technology Roadmap and Implementation Plan Workshops will be happening on the two preceding days: March 26-27, 2014; workshop topics and details to be announced later once they have been confirmed. Tentative Workshop topics are: 1. Developer Workshop to Identify Technology Needs 2. Oil and Gas Service Company Workshop to Identify Technology Transfer Opportunities and Innovations. Please click here to read more about workshops that CanGEA has planned to carry out in the near future. The event will be held in Calgary, AB, at the same venue as last year’s annual conference: the Alberta Innovates Technology Futures (AITF) Building at 3608 33rd St. S.W., Calgary, AB. Please lock in these dates in your calendars for this event that you’ll surely not want to miss! The GRC’s 37th Annual Meeting & GEA Geothermal Energy Expo is happening at the end of this month from September 29-October 2, 2013 at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas, NV. While in attendance, Alison Thompson will be giving the North American talk in the International Session happening on Monday, September 30, 2013 where experts from around the world will present the latest geothermal energy developments in their regional markets.
We look forward to seeing and meeting you there! To view details about the event, visit the GRC’s Annual Meeting website. One of CanGEA’s members, Borealis GeoPower will be attending and presenting at the Renewable Energy & Mining Summit happening from September 25-26, 2013 in Toronto. Tim Thompson, Borealis’s CEO, will be presenting on the topic of geothermal/mining cross-over opportunities. If you would like more information about the Summit, please visit the Renewable Energy & Mining Summit Event website. CanGEA’s Chair, Alison Thompson, will be presenting at the International Renewable Energy Agency’s Geothermal Expert Meeting this Sunday, September 29, 2013 in Las Vegas ahead of the GRC’s Annual Conference.
For more information on IRENA’s Global Renewable Energy Atlas, click here. CanGEA is excited to announce that one of its member companies, Deep Earth Energy Production Inc. (DEEP), has obtained a signed Contribution Agreement with SaskPower as of July 30, 2013. The agreement funds a $2 Million Front End Engineering Design (FEED) Study on the economic and technical viability of geothermal as a resource for clean electricity generation in southern Saskatchewan on a 50/50 basis with Natural Resources Canada (NRCan). The study is set to wrap up in December 2013.
We’d like to congratulate DEEP on their hard work so far and wish them luck on their ongoing efforts to make geothermal electricity production a reality in Canada. To learn more about the agreement, click here. To learn more about the project, visit DEEP’s website. Response to the Canadian Geographic issue on “The 13+ Things you Didn’t Know About Energy in Canada” Article: CanGEA is Canada’s geothermal energy industry association. We would like to take this opportunity to respond to your article titled The 13+ Things you Didn’t Know About Energy in Canada. We noticed that the definition of geothermal energy for power and heat production is confused with geothermal heat pumps. The article “fact” mentions that there have been 15,000 installations of geothermal heat pumps in the past year after it states that Canada is not currently using geothermal energy, which confuses the meaning of the two very different technologies. Geothermal heat pumps are used in residential and commercial buildings as an energy efficiency technology, whereas geothermal energy (or power) involves drilling hundreds or thousands of metres to the geothermal resource to extract heat for large-scale electricity production and direct heat uses. Our government and public must be aware of this distinction or we squander an opportunity to utilize our geothermal resources for clean power and heat production in the future. (CanGEA research based upon Anderson et. al, 2013) In the article, Mory Ghomshei mentions the high costs of heat drawn from deep holes in the ground for power production and direct use of geothermal heat. Though there are high initial costs of geothermal power projects, CanGEA’s research demonstrates that geothermal actually produces power at one of the least expensive rates of all power sources after its initial phase of development. The attached graph demonstrates that the levelized cost of geothermal power is competitive to coal, especially when you include health impact externalities. *Note that the purple line in the figure represents the average pool price for the years 2008 through and including 2012. **Further, note that for the purposes of the figure it is being assumed that the Canadian and US dollars are at parody. Lastly, while there are zero MW of geothermal power in production in Canada today, deep geothermal resources are still being utilized for direct use heat projects. One needs to look no further than the popular hot springs of British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, the Yukon, and the Northwest Territories to see examples of the industry. Furthermore, a geopower demonstration project has run in British Columbia in the past, and another pilot project is in its planning phases for southern Saskatchewan (see www.deepcorp.ca). CanGEA is actively trying to change the state of Canada’s stagnant geothermal industry. We are currently leading a project titled Geothermal Technology Roadmap and Implementation Plan (TRM&IP), which will outline the prospects of geothermal energy right across the country. In order to influence government policy and have geothermal energy on the same level playing field as conventional energy sources, CanGEA will be looking for public supporters for their upcoming campaign. We would like to invite an opportunity to reframe the current state of geothermal energy in the next edition of Candian Geographic. Please let us know if you are willing to feature CanGEA and their upcoming projects in the future weeks. Those interested in participating, sponsoring, or funding the upcoming campaign or projects should contact info@cangea.ca and cite Technology Roadmap in the subject line. Best regards, Julia Simone Researcher, Canadian Geothermal Energy Association E-mail: julia@cangea.ca (Research citation: Anderson, K., Weis, T., Thibault, B., Khan, F., Nanni, B., & Farber, N. (2013). A Costly Diagnosis: Subsidizing Coal Power with Albertan’s Health. 2013: The Pembina Foundation; The Asthma Society of Canada; The Candadian Association of Physicians for the Environment; The Lung Assciation, Alberta & Northwest Territories; and The Pembina Institute. |
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