Having once previously written to express dismay at Canada’s complete lack of vision regarding geothermal energy development, I was somewhat pleasantly surprised to recently read about the Liberal government’s decision to provide funding for such a facility.
What I found somewhat surprising and interesting was that of all places, the plant is planned for Saskatchewan, which I was not aware is rife with the potential for geothermal projects.
Meanwhile, in Alberta and B.C., there is no shortage of places where the Earth’s heat rises almost all the way up to the surface — that’s essentially what hot springs are.
Canada’s West Coast is situated on what is known in the world of geology as the Ring of Fire, a volcanically active global connection of fault lines — or fractures in the planet’s crust — that span the Pacific Ocean.
Ring of Fire countries such as New Zealand, Indonesia, the Philippines, the U.S. and Mexico, all have commercial geothermal plants. So does Iceland — which could not be situated more perfectly for geothermal — and it contributes extensively to providing the small island nation in the Atlantic with power.
But for some unfathomable reason, Canada has faltered behind and does not have a single such facility.
Or at least, not yet. The announcement that made headlines earlier this month indicates that could finally be poised to change.
The prime minister reportedly said a geothermal power project in Saskatchewan has the potential to transform how energy in Canada is produced. Trudeau presented a pledge during a visit to the DEEP Earth Energy Production’s geothermal test well near Estevan, located in the southeast corner of the province a mere 16 kilometres north of the U.S. border.
The total estimated cost of the project is roughly $51.3 million, and is anticipated to provide 100 jobs during construction. Trudeau announced the federal government would commit $25.6 million in funding for the five-megawatt facility that will power some 5,000 homes while at the same time removing from the atmosphere the equivalent of the yearly emissions spewed by 7,400 cars.
The geothermal project is apparently the first of its kind in Canada, and taps into a new renewable energy resource that is not victim to a perpetually volatile price point like oil.
Although there should have been a focus in this direction decades ago, better late than never I suppose.
Agree or disagree with the Trudeau government’s policies, but geothermal is something that we should all be able to agree will play an important role in developing a cleaner energy industry that emits fewer greenhouse gases while creating a need for skilled technicians and workers.
The Earth is literally belching up free heat from its core close to the surface that could be used to generate power.
Why would we not tap into this source of clean energy that creates good jobs while reducing our carbon footprint?
