THE STATE OF THE GEOTHERMAL ENERGY INDUSTRY IN CANADA

Geothermal Energy resources are widely available throughout Canada, with the most extreme hot spots located in the province of British Columbia. This energy source offers many benefits, including, but not limited to, levelized energy costs, low greenhouse gas emissions, and a small environmental footprint when compared with fossil fuels and other renewable energy sources. Aside from energy production, the direct use of geothermal heat also offers many unique applications, including aquaculture and greenhousing. Despite these profitable opportunities, geothermal developments in Canada are absent. At present, there are no geothermal power plants, and the only direct uses that are taken advantage of are bathing (hot springs), and heating and cooling purposes.

To demonstrate Canada’s geothermal deficiency, it is currently the only major country located on the Pacific Ring of Fire that does not use geothermal for energy production. It is also the only North American country that is not a top global producer of geothermal energy. Several companies have explored launching geothermal developments, however, policy limitations and exemption from both provincial and federal government agendas have prevented the establishment of a viable industry. For instance, in Alberta it is estimated that there are resources capable of producing 4,200 MW of energy. However, there is no provincial legislation in place to issue permits for geothermal projects. To foster a thriving geothermal energy industry in Canada, it is necessary to begin demonstration projects for each unique type of geothermal play and application. This would provide a better understanding of the economics involved, but policy, not technical expertise, inhibits this possibility.

To address these policy barriers, a number of promising initiatives are currently underway. This includes producing favourability maps and databases for Western and Northern provinces/territories. These maps, for example, will be used as part of an outreach program that targets communities within the favourable locations to conduct workshops on direct use applications of geothermal, which represent economic diversity. These initiatives are a part of the National Geothermal Innovation Roadmap, which has the ultimate goal of producing 5,000 MW of geothermal derived energy by 2025.