Geothermal energy may finally be on the cusp of a breakthrough in Canada, according to a recent feature in Canada’s National Observer.
The article by Darius Snieckus describes how Alberta’s deep drilling expertise is being redirected toward tapping the immense heat beneath the ground.
Canada’s geothermal potential is vast—estimated at “one million times” current national power demand—and largely untapped.
New drilling and circulation technologies are rapidly changing the economics, making geothermal viable in more regions and at lower cost. Advanced geothermal systems (AGS) and enhanced geothermal systems (EGS) can circulate fluids through engineered underground formations, enabling energy generation well beyond traditional hotspots.
“Key innovations in next-gen geothermal have the potential to completely change power systems across Canada,” Peter Massie, the director of Cascade’s Geothermal Energy Office, says in the article.
In British Columbia, the long-studied Mount Meager project is moving closer to development, driven by the need for firm, low-carbon power.
“Clean electricity is going to be one of the Achilles’ heels of the government’s energy transition plan and this geothermal resource should start resonating sooner rather than later as a solution to this problem,” said Richard Hawker, president of Meager Creek Development Corp.
“This mountain has been studied for more than 50 years and tens of millions of dollars invested,” Hawker said. “But now we are very confident we can put the wells in that can bring this project into being.”
Dan Phillipson, managing partner at Deep Energy Capital, says there is a “major shift underway” in the attitudes toward investment in geothermal. He says investors are beginning to see “attractive returns from an asset that will not be stranded — like oil or gas in the long-term might.”
The challenge for now, Phillipson explains, is ensuring Canada seizes the opportunity: “The capital is there. In Canada, the policy isn’t yet.”
Read the full article at Canada’s National Observer.
The Cascade Institute will soon publish a Techno-Economic Analysis of geothermal test sites in Canada — subscribe to our newsletter to stay informed on this and other Cascade projects.
