In 2017, Terrapin Geothermics Inc. was contracted to a geothermal resource evaluation of select Northern Alberta Communities. The newly released report summarizes the results and lists the communities that would benefit from geo-exchange, direct heat use, and/or electricity generation. The full report can be viewed here.
The following is a summary of the report:
“The focus of this project was to create location-specific research reports that provided a high-level technical overview of the geothermal resource potential of the studied areas, considering both the potential temperatures to be found and unique geological considerations in the targeted communities. One of the primary objectives in conducting this work was to provide all sub-regions with guidance as to the comparative quality of their geothermal resource, and recommended future research focus areas should they be keen to develop the geothermal resource in their region.
Terrapin conducted this work over a 5-month period through Winter and Spring of 2018. Over the course of this work, it has been identified that all 42 studied northern communities demonstrate the potential for geo-exchange activities. 31 areas demonstrated suitable temperatures and basic geological factors to support further investigation into direct use opportunities. Terrapin identified 12 areas as containing suitable temperatures and geological factors for power generation”