Borealis GeoPower wins bid on geothermal parcel in BC/ Canada
Mount Robson, Fraser-Fort George, BC/ Canada (source: flickr/ CanadaGood, creative commons)
Alexander Richter
1 Nov 2010
Canadian geothermal developer Borealis GeoPower successfully bids for three geothermal parcels in the recent BC Geothermal Rights Public Tenure Auction. The parcels are located in the interior of the province of British Columbia, Canada.
The Canadian Geothermal Energy Association (CanGEA) reports that “Borealis GeoPower Inc. has successfully bid for the second B.C. Geothermal Rights Public Tenure Auction of 2010.
The Province of British Columbia has seen a renewed interest in geothermal energy and is working to make more land available for development. The October Auction is the second in 2010 by the B.C.’s Ministry of Energy, Mines, & Petroleum Resources, and the second since 2004. CanGEA has been active in working with the BC government to expedite the land tenure process.”
Borealis bought three parcels with together 11,848 hectares for a total price of C$45,000 (which includes a bonus payment, fees, rent and the tender bonus)
Brian Toohey, CanGEA Board Director, had this to say, “We are very pleased that a CanGEA member has successfully bid in the B.C. Geothermal Rights Tenure Offer. We hope that this successful parcel auction will lead to an increased interest in the development of geothermal power in British Columbia. In order for the geothermal industry to progress in Canada, continuous access to geothermal assets through permitting is necessary. CanGEA believes that the Government of British Columbia is moving in the right direction although CanGEA maintains that permitting needs to made available sooner and more abundantly than has been in the past two 2010 Auctions. CanGEA also hopes that B.C. Hydro and others will continue to make progress towards Calls for GeoPower and Feed-in Tariffs similar to what other renewables in British Columbia are afforded.”
“We see this is an exciting opportunity for geothermal development in Canada and for Borealis” said Craig Dunn, Chief Operating Officer “We look forward to working with all the relevant stakeholders, to taking this project from development to production.”
CanGEA is optimistic about the future of geothermal energy in Canada yet recognizes that the industry cannot progress without government and public support. CanGEA believes that if Canada is to become a clean energy super-power as the federal budget suggests, governments must invest in the future to develop this renewable, base-load energy source and harness its benefits for all Canadians.”
Source: Digital Journal; full sales results
