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Canada’s Geothermal Energy Update in 2023

Author

Listed:
  • Katherine Huang

    (Geothermal Canada, Burnaby, BC V5H 4E9, Canada
    Alberta No. 1, Edmonton, AB T5J 3M1, Canada)

  • Alireza Dehghani-Sanij

    (Waterloo Institute for Sustainable Energy (WISE), University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, Canada
    CanmetENERGY–Ottawa, Natural Resources Canada (NRCan), Ottawa, ON K1A 1M1, Canada)

  • Catherine Hickson

    (Geothermal Canada, Burnaby, BC V5H 4E9, Canada
    Alberta No. 1, Edmonton, AB T5J 3M1, Canada)

  • Stephen E. Grasby

    (Geothermal Canada, Burnaby, BC V5H 4E9, Canada
    Geological Survey of Canada (GSC)–Calgary, Natural Resources Canada (NRCan), Calgary, AB T2L 2A7, Canada)

  • Emily Smejkal

    (Alberta No. 1, Edmonton, AB T5J 3M1, Canada)

  • Mafalda M. Miranda

    (Geothermal Canada, Burnaby, BC V5H 4E9, Canada
    Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique (INRS), Québec City, QC G1K 9A9, Canada)

  • Jasmin Raymond

    (Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique (INRS), Québec City, QC G1K 9A9, Canada)

  • Derek Fraser

    (Department of Energy, Mines and Resources, Government of Yukon, Whitehorse, YT Y1A 0R3, Canada)

  • Kass Harbottle

    (Barkley Project Group, Nanaimo, BC V9R 5B3, Canada)

  • Daniel Alonso Torres

    (Barkley Project Group, Nanaimo, BC V9R 5B3, Canada)

  • John Ebell

    (Barkley Project Group, Nanaimo, BC V9R 5B3, Canada)

  • Julie Dixon

    (Novus Earth Energy, Calgary, AB T2P 3R7, Canada)

  • Emily Olsen

    (Novus Earth Energy, Calgary, AB T2P 3R7, Canada)

  • Jeanine Vany

    (Eavor Technologies Inc., Calgary, AB T2R 0K1, Canada)

  • Kirsten Marcia

    (DEEP Earth Energy Production Corp., Saskatoon, SK S7N 3R2, Canada)

  • Maurice Colpron

    (Department of Energy, Mines and Resources, Government of Yukon, Whitehorse, YT Y1A 0R3, Canada)

  • Andrew Wigston

    (CanmetENERGY–Ottawa, Natural Resources Canada (NRCan), Ottawa, ON K1A 1M1, Canada)

  • Gordon Brasnett

    (Sproule, Calgary, AB T2P 3N3, Canada)

  • Martyn Unsworth

    (Department of Physics, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 0B9, Canada)

  • Phil Harms

    (4th Resource Corp., Calgary, AB T2P 0M9, Canada)

Abstract

Geothermal energy exploration, development, and research have been ongoing in Canada for several decades. The country’s cold climate and the push to develop renewable energy sources have driven interest in geothermal energy. Despite this drive, regulatory complexities and competition with other relatively inexpensive energy sources with existing infrastructure have hindered development. As such, interest has grown and waned with changes in the energy economy over several decades, leaving many projects at a standstill. As of January 2023, there are currently no operational geothermal power projects in Canada. Many hot spring pool and spa complexes remain active, and Canada is a leading country in the installation of ground source heat pumps (GSHPs; also called geo-exchange systems). However, in the last decade, the interest in deep geothermal systems has renewed, with many new projects starting up across several provinces and territories. Moreover, projects that had shown limited progress for many years—such as Mount Meager in British Columbia—have begun to renew their development efforts. Research is also expanding within prominent research groups and universities. The areas of focus include both building upon previous studies (such as thermal gradients and the heat flow in sedimentary basins) and researching new methods and resources (such as GSHPs, closed-loop systems, integrated geothermal operations, and hybrid systems, including heat storage). The development is supported by federal, provincial, and territorial governments through grants and the development of regulatory frameworks. Although challenges still remain for Canada to develop its geothermal energy resources, several power, thermal, and co-production projects, ongoing research, funding, and regulatory acts are all moving forward to support geothermal development. This paper aims to study Canada’s geothermal energy update in 2023 regarding the aspects mentioned above.

Suggested Citation

  • Katherine Huang & Alireza Dehghani-Sanij & Catherine Hickson & Stephen E. Grasby & Emily Smejkal & Mafalda M. Miranda & Jasmin Raymond & Derek Fraser & Kass Harbottle & Daniel Alonso Torres & John Ebe, 2024. "Canada’s Geothermal Energy Update in 2023," Energies, MDPI, vol. 17(8), pages 1-34, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:17:y:2024:i:8:p:1807-:d:1372912
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Hu, Xincheng & Banks, Jonathan & Guo, Yunting & Liu, Wei Victor, 2022. "Utilizing geothermal energy from enhanced geothermal systems as a heat source for oil sands separation: A numerical evaluation," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 238(PA).
    2. Schiffner, Daniel & Banks, Jonathan & Rabbani, Arif & Lefsrud, Lianne & Adamowicz, Wiktor, 2022. "Techno-economic assessment for heating cattle feed water with low-temperature geothermal energy: A case study from central Alberta, Canada," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 198(C), pages 1105-1120.
    3. Hu, Xincheng & Banks, Jonathan & Wu, Linping & Liu, Wei Victor, 2020. "Numerical modeling of a coaxial borehole heat exchanger to exploit geothermal energy from abandoned petroleum wells in Hinton, Alberta," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 148(C), pages 1110-1123.
    4. Hu, Xincheng & Banks, Jonathan & Guo, Yunting & Huang, Guangping & Liu, Wei Victor, 2021. "Effects of temperature-dependent property variations on the output capacity prediction of a deep coaxial borehole heat exchanger," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 165(P1), pages 334-349.
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    Cited by:

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