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On Canada Day an article was released by CBC News, Geothermal pitched as Alberta's next big energy source. In the article chief economist for ATB Financial, Todd Hirsch, discusses why he thinks Alberta is perfectly situated to embrace geothermal energy. He states that Alberta's experience developing marginal resources will help it become a world leader in geothermal energy.
"If we can make it work in Alberta, then it is a cinch to sell the technology to the Chinese and the Germans and everyone elsewhere geothermal doesn't work." - Todd Hirsch Read the article and watch the video below.
A geothermal pilot project is underway to prove that it's possible to generate geothermal electricity from the boiling water that comes out of the wells (ie. waste water). Project-lead Will Gosnold joins BNN to explain the technology:
Source: http://www.bnn.ca/Video/player.aspx?vid=635967 What does this mean for geothermal energy in Alberta? According to Think GeoEnergy's recent interview with our chair, Alison Thompson, the newly elected NDP government in Alberta could provide a more favourable environment for geothermal energy development.
Under the previous Progressive Conservative government, the primary focus was on the oil & gas industry and little support was provided to renewables. The NDP, however, claim that they would like to speed up the phaseout of coal power plants in the province, which have been blamed for burdening the Alberta health care system. This earlier phaseout would create a demand for a new base-load power source - may we suggest geothermal? Some may question geothermal potential in Alberta, but it is in fact home to one of the world's largest Hot Sedimentary Aquifers (HSA): The Western Canada Sedimentary Basin. HSAs have been used as a resource in both Germany and France for a variety of geothermal applications, most notably greenhouses and district heating systems. To learn more about geothermal energy potential in Alberta, you can view CanGEA's resource estimate maps. Click here to read the full article written by Think GeoEnergy's Alexander Richter. Read our policy advisor's article published in Power Engineering: Lots of Potential, Still no Geothermal
Canada is one of the only developed countries on the Pacific Ring of Fire not taking major commercial advantage of geothermal energy - a clean, energy source that runs 24/7! This begs the question: What's holding up geothermal energy in Canada? CanGEA's policy advisor, Justin Crewson, answers just that in a recent article, Lots of Potential, Still No Geothermal, published in Power Engineering. Justin outlines four reasons geothermal has failed to take off in Canada, as it successfully has in continental neighbours the United States and Mexico.
Click here to read the full article. Canada is one of the only developed countries on the Pacific Ring of Fire not taking major commercial advantage of geothermal energy - a clean, energy source that runs 24/7! This begs the question: What's holding up geothermal energy in Canada?
CanGEA's policy advisor, Justin Crewson, answers just that in a recent article, Lots of Potential, Still No Geothermal, published in Power Engineering. Justin outlines four reasons geothermal has failed to take off in Canada, as it successfully has in continental neighbours the United States and Mexico.
Click here to read the full article. Tyler Hamilton, editor for Corporate Knights, asks "Where is Canada?"
“We are delighted that Star Minerals received DOE support for their innovation, but what can the Canadian, provincial and territorial governments do to create these opportunities at home with our own world class resources?” - Alison Thompson, CanGEA chair This article outlines the potential for a mutually beneficial relationship between the geothermal and mining industries, where rare earth elements can be extracted from geothermal brines. One example is Simbol, a California-based company that has partnered with geothermal companies to extract lithium, maganese and zinc compounds from geothermal fluids after heat has been extracted. Lithium compounds can go on to be used to produce lithium ion batteries. The United States Department of Energy (DOE) has recently invested more than $4 million to nine geothermal projects planning to recover heat and minerals from geothermal brines. A Canadian company, Star Minerals, is a partner in one of these projects. On March 28, 2015 an opinion piece was published in the Times Colonist written by G.W. Clayton (P.Eng) of North Saanich, extolling the Site C hydro dam as a "technical winner". At the end of the article, Mr. Clayton questions the viability of geothermal energy as an alternative to the large hydro project.
Our policy advisor, Justin Crewson, has written a response to this piece. We hope we answered all of Mr. Clayton's questions. To read the opinion piece in the Times Colonist, click here. Here is Justin's response: Re: Site C hydro project is a technical winner It must be acknowledged that hydroelectric projects have historically played an important role as sources of electricity in Canada. However, we must remember that times have changed, and so too must the manner in which we evaluate large public undertakings. As Brian Peckford, the longtime premier of Newfoundland and Labrador recently advised in an open letter about Site C: “hydro development today is not the hydro development of a former era. There are more environmental issues, significant aboriginal issues in this particular case and the rise of generation alternatives unavailable in former times.” This observation is noteworthy, especially as Mr. Peckford presided over a large hydroelectric producing province. The flooding of 5,340 hectares of land, including important heritage sites and First Nations treaty land is certainly a major concern. However, so too is the repeated failure to act on recommendations for research into viable alternatives for Site C such as geothermal power. Harry Swain, the Chair of the Joint Review Panel (JRP) for the Site C project, described the failure to research geothermal energy as a “dereliction of duty”. Internationally, 24 countries produce geothermal power, including all other developed countries on the Pacific Rim. The US is currently the world’s largest geothermal power producer, with plants in various west coast states such as California, Oregon and Alaska. Mexico, is also producing geothermal power, and is actually the world’s fourth largest geothermal power producer. British Columbia has significant confirmed geothermal energy potential, as indicated by data from drilling operations in the northeast region of the province. The binary power plant technology that could utilize these resources has been developed since the 1980s, and has been aggressively adopted in countries such as Germany and Turkey. In fact, owing to recent developments in these countries, 15% of the world’s geothermal power plants now use this technology. While these resources carry significant potential, so too does the interior and coast of the province, which forms a massive white space for which little subsurface resource data is available. This area hosts numerous hot springs that are generally indicative of excellent geothermal resources. Such potential sites would also likely be able to use conventional technology, which creates the lowest levelized cost of electricity available. The opportunities presented by these potential resources are significant, especially when one considers the following advantages over Site C. Geothermal projects would be much smaller than Site C, and could be built to meet demand incrementally. This would help to avoid the risks associated with projecting future demand, which the JRP ruled as being one of the major drawbacks of Site C. Geothermal projects can also be situated strategically so as to reduce transmission costs, and to improve the reliability of electricity in communities located at the end of long transmission lines. All of this can be done without compromising relations with First Nations, and gambling at least $8.8 billion on a project that may never actually be needed. Statistics also show that the equivalent MW capacity of geothermal energy would create more than ten times the amount of permanent jobs that Site C would. Geothermal wastewater could also be used as a low cost and clean source of heat for entrepreneurial endeavours such as greenhouses prior to being reinjected into the ground. When you consider these facts it becomes clear. Geothermal energy is an all-around winner. Justin Crewson, BA, MA, MPP (Master of Public Policy) Policy Advisor, CanGEA Today (March 5, 2015) in Whitehorse, YT, MP Ryan Leef announced funding for research and development into potential sources of natural geothermal energy in Yukon on behalf of Minister Aglukkaq. CanGEA will be working on the project in collaboration with the Government of Yukon, Department of Energy, Mines and Resources' Energy Branch and the Yukon Geological Survey to construct maps and reports that will identify potential sources of geothermal energy. The project is receiving a total of $126,000 from the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency over the next two years.
What does this mean for the Yukon? While clean, renewable and affordable power are always welcomed, this project is expected to broaden horizons for local entrepreneurs. The northern territory would be an excellent location for the many direct use applications of geothermal heat that will be detailed in our report. These include district heating systems, greenhouses, sidewalk snow melting, fish farms and many more. As we like to say at CanGEA, the only limit to direct use applications is your imagination! To view the original press release, please click here. Also check out this CBC piece that features CanGEA member, Takhini Hot Springs, and how they are helping to spearhead this project. CanGEA will be hosting a Yukon Geothermal Energy Data Stakeholders Meeting on Tuesday, March 17, 2015. Attendance is by invitation only and those wishing to attend are encouraged to contact us. Corporate Knights editor, Tyler Hamilton, recently featured CanGEA in an article "Geothermal industry reaches out to out-of-work oil drillers," highlighting the opportunity created by the downturn in the Canada's oil patch. The decline in drilling prices, which typically make up approximately 30 percent of a geothermal project's budget, has brought down the high upfront costs of a geothermal project to approximately 15 percent. This makes initiating a geothermal project in Canada more favourable than ever before. Additionally, a geothermal project creates a demand for drillers and other oil & gas service providers. This could help put some of Canada's oil patch employees back to work, which as predicted by the Canadian Association of Oilwell Drilling Contractors could reach 23,000 this year. You can read the full article on this mutually beneficial relationship by following this link.
CanGEA re-released our Alberta Geothermal Favourability Maps and Resource Estimates on Monday, February 9, 2015. To coincide with this re-release is our report: "Un-Natural Gas: Alberta's Dirty Substitute for Geothermal"
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