Alberta No. 1 CEO excited for future of Greenview geothermal energy project

CEO Dr. Catherine Hickson says this started as a “visionary” project by the MD of Greenview, as council sought ways to diversify the economy.

“The project itself was quite visionary, and it started, basically, back in 2017,” said Hickson. “And it was ‘how can we diversify the economy?’ Because people who are drillers in the area know that many of the wells bring up not just oil and gas, but they bring up hot water.

“And is there a useful purpose for that hot water?”

This is where geothermal energy comes into play. As Dr. Hickson describes, geothermal energy is, simply, drawing the naturally occurring heat of the earth from below the surface.

“What we are talking about is actually taking that deep earth heat, bringing it to the surface, and doing something useful with it.”

The temperature log recently completed returned a temperature of 118 degrees Celsius at a depth of below 4,000 metres, which is above the threshold of 100 degrees Celsius required for such power generation to be considered viable.

“It actually confirmed that it was ten degrees (Celsius) hotter than what the published bottom hole temperature was,” said Dr. Hickson. “The temperatures are at, or above, what has been reported by oil and gas drilling.”

With that potential confirmed, the current plan for the facility in the Gold Creek area south of Grande Prairie is that it be able to produce enough power for between 2,500 and 3,000 homes.

But, Dr. Hickson says power generation is but one aspect of what this facility, which she says is relatively small, will be able to generate.

“Thermally, we have enough thermal energy to centrally provide enough heat to have ten acres of greenhouses or six million cubic feet of industrial space,” said Dr. Hickson, adding she is particularly excited about the potential for greenhouses in the Grande Prairie area.

“Just think what you could do with ten acres of greenhouses. You’d be able to produce all your tomatoes and peppers and cucumbers in the wintertime.”

Beyond the ability to generate power and thermal heat locally, Dr. Hickson adds the area is well poised to be able to deliver such power internationally, pointing to the extensive heavy transport industry in the area, as well as an extensive rail system.

Hickson also sees many synergies, not opposition, with the oil and gas sector. Describing geothermal as an “elephant”, as larger pipes and infrastructure are required in geothermal drilling, she says the very same practices used in geothermal exploration are one and the same with the oil and gas sector.

“We’re upsizing from the oil and gas industry,” said Dr. Hickson. “But we’re using all of those techniques. The drillers who are drilling in oil and gas, we’re drilling in the same locations.

“That expertise that they use in order to be successful, from a well drilling perspective, is what we need in geothermal.”

Though she admits it’s been a slow uptake to this point, she says many oil and gas companies are already investing in their own geothermal exploration and projects internationally.

“I think what is going to tip the balance is the need for carbon sequestration,” said Hickson. “With the price of carbon going up, many industries are going to find themselves less and less competitive as that carbon pricing increases.”

She adds carbon sequestration, which is the practice of capturing and storing atmospheric carbon, makes geothermal even more attractive, as it is not only carbon neutral, but carbon negative.

“We’re not talking about stopping oil and gas production, we’re talking about supporting that, particularly with the carbon sequestration, so that the oil and gas and the incredible petrochemicals that are produced from oil and gas, that we can’t do any other way,” said Hickson. “This is to help protect the oil and gas industry.”

The hope is to have Alberta No. 1 generating power by the year 2024.

by Shaun Penner

Alberta No. 1 CEO excited for future of Greenview geothermal energy project

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