Calls for British Columbia needing to fulfill geothermal potential
Well MC6 being flowtested at Meager Creek, BC/ Canada (source: Western GeoPower)
Alexander Richter
14 May 2013
Canada's province of British Columbia is blessed with a large potential for geothermal energy utilization, yet has done little to develop it, so it is great to see the upcoming elections in the province raising awareness for geothermal energy.
With upcoming elections in Canada’s province of British Columbia, it is great to see that geothermal energy is finding its way into the political debate.
British Columbia has similar geological and geothermal options than the Western United States but so far has not been able to tap into its geothermal potential.
The Green Party of the province now points out that it is “the only jurisdiction in the Ring of Fire that doesn’t have geothermal power in place.” The “ring of fire” points out the tectonic formations and volcanic areas of the Pacific area from the Southern part of South America along the west coast all the way through Central America, Mexico, the United States, Canada, Alaska and then on the other side through Russia, Japan, Southeast Asia, Pacific, New Zealand. (see Wikipedia note)
The application of geothermal heat pumps have seen a great growth in Canada, but so far there has been no real geothermal power development in Canada. That is particularly shameful due to the great resources and opportunities represented in British Columbia and northern Alberta.
A great report published by the Canadian Geological Survey confirmed the great potential for geothermal energy utilization in Canada and in particular the western part of the country.
Alison Thompson, Chair of the Canadian Geothermal Energy Association (CanGEA) says that the “size and quality of Canada’s geothermal reserves are significant … and it’s not a fringe resource. It’s unbelievable we haven’t done anything with it.”
So for the Green Party in BC to bring the topic of the province’s geothermal opportunities into the public discussion is great and hopefully creates more awareness with politicians of other parties and with the main utility BC Hydro.
There were earlier efforts for development by BC Hydro in the 1980s at Meager Creek, and later by Western GeoPower on the same location, but so far it does not look like the project will continue. There is another project being worked on by Borealis GeoPower.
CanGEA maintains an overview on geothermal projects in Canada here.
Source: CBC Canada
