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Investment into a sustainable future: geothermal project in Canada becomes reality

Investment into a sustainable future: geothermal project in Canada becomes reality Geothermal Hot Spring near Canoe Reach, Valemount, BC/ Canada (source: Matt Morrison)
Alexander Richter 5 Dec 2016

Canadian Borealis GeoPower Inc.’s geothermal direct use and micro power project near Valemount, British Columbia is nearing its construction phase and is seeking your investment.

Canadian Borealis GeoPower Inc.’s geothermal direct use and micro power project near Valemount, British Columbia is nearing its construction phase. Like all geothermal companies before them globally, arranging for financing isn’t necessarily easy, as this energy form is new, especially in Canada.

The developer hopes that the message will spread widely to help not only their project but becomes the start of more for Canada’s geothermal industry.

So here is their question:

“What would the next generation want you to invest in, today?”

On its website (http://borealisgeopower.com/invest) Borealis GeoPower shares a list out over a dozen reasons why investing in geothermal energy makes sense. Given the ongoing fossil fuel controversy in the US and Canada, another way to look at this opportunity is that it is an antidote to pipeline project news. The geothermal energy industry uses oil & gas skills sets AND pipelines in a socially acceptable way. Getting this project off the ground is expected to kick start the industry in Canada, a country who has yet to connect geothermal power to their electricity markets despite sharing similar North American geology to Mexico and the US, both powerhouses on the global scene.

Borealis GeoPower spun off a subsidiary earlier this year, Canoe Reach Energy Inc., to lead the geothermal direct use operations and sales to customers. They have signed 1 agreement and are in the process of negotiating others, having brought on in-house legal counsel recently to help in this regard.

The Village of Valemount has been welcoming of this project and exemplifies how energy projects don’t have to be controversial.

Alison Thomson, a director of Borealis GeoPower, explained, “This is a private industry-led initiative, although the federal government has funded some of our exploration work. This is the first time that geothermal wells have been drilled to serve a nearby customer.”

Borealis plans to build a geothermal industrial park that will initially supply the village of Valemount, in the province’s Robson Valley region, with carbon-free heat (substituting for propane gas and diesel). Eventually, GeoPower will also supply the electricity.

“We’ve completed field work in each of 2010-2016 which has aided in the reservoir delineation. We have now chosen our drilling targets and requested drilling permits from the government. We are participating in a private placement to finance the drilling and development of the reservoir,” said Thomson.

The three phases of this project’s development are described on Borealis’ website:

  1. Griffin GeoHeat Park – Hot Pools, Greenhouse & CO2e Credits – A small-scale local greenhouse and hot pools will be sustained naturally by the heat of the Earth. Geothermal energy can supply food security, jobs and boost tourism, all while creating CO2 credits instead of paying a carbon tax. We estimate that Phase 1 will generate 1,250 tonnes/yr of carbon credits.
  2. Cedarside GeoPark – 100 kW of power through the BC Hydro Net Metering Program, 1MW of power through the BC Hydro Community First Nations Standing Offer Program and heat supplied to GeoPark business customers. We estimate that Phase 2 will generate 19,000 tonnes/yr of carbon credits.
  3. Canoe Reach GeoPower – can sell 15 MW of power production through the BC Hydro Standing Offer program as well as provide ancillary services to BC Hydro for Transmission Grid Support.

ThinkGeoEnergy, Borealis GeoPower, Canoe Reach Energy and the Village of Valemount are all Canadian Geothermal Energy Association members. (ThinkGeoEnergy is a board member of CanGEA).