The Narwhal: Why Canada’s geothermal industry is finally gaining ground

About a year after a Narwhal article outlined why geothermal is not taking off in Canada, the industry in Canada is more active and gaining more traction. There are several geothermal projects across the country in various stages of development and geothermal energy is now commonly considered when politicians and the public discuss renewable energy options.

The Narwhal’s recent article, “Why Canada’s geothermal industry is finally gaining ground” provides an excellent overview of the current political and economic climate that has been favourable for the geothermal industry. Read about the DEEP project in Saskatchewan, the Alberta No. 1 project outside of Grande Prairie, the Clarke Lake project in northeast British Columbia, and the Razor project near Swan Hills, Alberta. The author also touches on the history of the industry in Canada, recent federal funding granted to several projects, the importance of geothermal heat, and synergies with the oil and gas industry

8th European Geothermal Workshop: Oct 7-8, 2020

The 8th European Geothermal Workshop will be held online on October 7-8, 2020. The workshop is organized by the University of Strasbourg / CNRS’ LabEx G-eau-thermie Profonde, in partnership with the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology and the European Energy Research Alliance.

The workshop will also include a presentation from Geothermal Canada Vice-President Dr. Catherine Hickson on Oct. 8 @4:30pm CEST (7:30am PST/8:30am MDT).

Registration and abstract submission are now open.

The 8 sessions include:

Assessment of Geothermal Resources
Exploration of Geothermal Reservoirs
Construction of Geothermal Wells
Resource Development
Energy Conversion Systems
Operation of Geothermal Systems
Sustainability, Environment and Regulatory Framework
Computing and Data Management

Registration is free but server capacity is limited to 200 participants. Register here.

HeatBeat - The Scoop on Closed-Loop: A Chat with John Redfern, CEO of Eavor

As different types of geothermal projects continue to develop in Canada, let’s look back on Eavor’s closed-loop technology with an interview from Eavor CEO, John Redfern.

In February, 2020, Eavor developed their pilot project, Eavor-Lite™, near Rocky Mountain House, AB and now have plans to construct Eavor-Loop™ heat and power projects in Germany with Enex Power Germany GmbH.

May 19, 2020: HeatBeat interviewed John Redfern, President and CEO of Eavor. Here is a brief excerpt from the interview:

Traditional geothermal players who have reviewed our thermodynamic models and field validation eventually come around, but it often takes them time to overcome deeply held convictions and entrenched gut reactions vis-à-vis the feasibility of conduction-only systems like closed-loop. From what I can see as an outsider, there is also a significant bias against closed-loop coming from an entrenched ecosystem, which has incurred significant sunk costs in EGS over the years. I’ll note that we do not typically encounter this same disbelief when speaking to the oil and gas industry, and I don’t find that surprising. There is a large experience gap between the geothermal and oil and gas industries, and an entirely different view of risk. The oil and gas folks, by and large, agree that the concept of closed-loop is sound, achievable, and interesting. Their main concern is cost reduction for well development.

Inactive Wells With Marla Orenstein: Tues Sept 1st, 2020 at 12pm MT

The event recording for this webinar is now available here

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Inactive Wells With Marla Orenstein
Tues. Sept. 1st, 2020
12pm-1pm MT
Ticket Available Here

Join the discussion next Tuesday on inactive wells and their future in Alberta with Marla Orenstein, Keely Cameron, and Juli Rohl. This webinar is presented by Energy Futures Lab as part of their Big Ideas for Our Energy Future series.

The session will explore “how the wind-down of the productive life of hydrocarbon assets in Alberta creates — at the same time — both an enormous environmental and financial liability, and also a high-value opportunity for cleantech innovation.”

2nd Canadian Geothermal Students' Days: June 21-22, 2021

The 1st CGSD at the University of Waterloo in 2019 was a big success- a summary and the Book of Abstracts is available here. The Canadian Geothermal Students’ Days (CGSD) Organizing Committee has announced that the 2nd CGSD will be help June 21-22, 2020 at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg. The theme of CGSD 2021 will be Geothermal Energy in Cold Climates, to showcase Canada’s leading role in the field of geothermal energy.

Registration is now open and Call for Abstracts is open with a deadline of Oct. 15, 2020.

Media Brief: Geothermal energy and its potential in Canada by Clean Energy Canada

Clean Energy Canada has posted a Media Brief about geothermal in Canada. The purpose of the Media Briefs are to “provide journalists with useful factual and contextual information related to Canada’s clean energy transition.”

“Geothermal energy and its potential in Canada” briefly outlines how geothermal power and direct heat use works, introduces some direct heat use applications that can be used in Canada, and presents the current geothermal projects in Canada, including Alberta No. 1, Razor Energy Corp. in Alberta, DEEP in Saskatchewan, Eavor-Lite in Alberta, Clarke Lake in BC, Lakelse Lake in BC, and Canoe Reach in BC. This Media Brief is a great introduction to anyone looking to learn about the geothermal energy industry and/or the opportunities and projects in Canada.