Geothermal energy’s future is expected to grow rapidly as more and more people turn away from, or outright eliminate fossil fuels. This will be good for the environment, the renewables industry, and the consumer, as well as investors.
Geothermal energy, like other renewables, is clean and sustainable, while unlike wind and solar that requires storage batteries, geothermal energy is available as both a source of electrical power and heat 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
The new guy on the block – Borealis GeoPower
Canada has high-quality geothermal resources, yet while geothermal energy has been in use around the world for the last century, Canada has not done much to develop theirs. And with rising carbon taxes affecting everything from the cost of food to electricity, heating and more, geothermal energy is looking better all the time.
To that end, Borealis GeoPower, a private Canadian corporation was formed in 2007, with a focus on developing high-temperature geothermal projects throughout Western Canada. Actually, Borealis is the only company in Canada that has carried out research and development in the geothermal field.
And the outcome from all the R&D has been far-reaching. Canada has the opportunity to become a world leader in geothermal energy production as well as helping the international community in sharing the technologies and innovations that have been developed.
Canada’s geothermal energy resources
There is a reason why western Canada is the prime location for the development of geothermal energy. Western North America is part of the Pacific Ocean’s “ring of fire.” And British Columbia has several volcanic regions where geothermal energy could be produced.
And while Borealis GeoPower is based in Calgary, but is doing its business in British Columbia, the answer is simple ‘ Alberta doesn’t have a geothermal program in place like B.C. does. A province having a geothermal program in place means that geothermal companies don’t have to compete with oil and gas companies for locations
“That’s a massive hurdle,” said Craig Dunn, the head geologist with Borealis GeoPower. “With a lack of a geothermal policy for development in Alberta, it makes a number of developers, including ourselves, apprehensive about approaching that market.”
In 2015, Borealis GeoPower began developing geothermal power projects in Canoe Reach, south of Valemount BC and Lakelse Lake, south of Terrace, BC, with the Kitselas First Nation. It is hoped that these fledgling projects will jump-start the government into putting more interest at the federal level into geothermal as an energy resource.
Investments in geothermal energy projects look good
There are a number of things an investor needs to look into before shelling out any amount of money into a geothermal energy project. And according to Dig The Heat, two issues need to be taken into account, right off – Access to land with a high geothermal energy potential and the company’s contracts or agreements with major utilities.
In other words, please find out where the proposed project is going to be located, and just as important, look carefully at what is hopefully a clear and transparent financial disclosure statement. All energy businesses have a certain amount of risk associated with them, perhaps because drilling itself is risky.
But it goes without saying, if you don’t do your homework, you could end up wearing the proverbial “dunce cap.” Geothermal is part of the renewable wave of the future and in our coming brave new world of low-carbon economies, we are all going to need to take some amount of risk to get it moving in the right direction.
