New report looks at geothermal in Alberta, Canada

A new report, “Greening the Grid – Powering Alberta’s Future with Renewable Energy (PDF)” by the Pembina Institute, looks at the renewable energy options for this Canadian province.

The report describes the current electricity generation in the province, looks at available technology and the potential. The geothermal section is quite interesting. Relatively critical about the data available on geothermal resources for Alberta, the authors are still quite convinced that the experience of Albertans in drilling for oil and gas, that this should be “easily transferable to geothermal electric technologies … and should help create enthusiasm for geothermal technologies going forward”. The authors also claim that despite the lack of research data, the potential for geothermal development is “enormous”. The particular potential the authors see in EGS technology.

Otherwise the report doesn’t give any specifics to potential geothermal development in the province, but it is a good beginning to hopefully get discussions going.

Source: “Greening the Grid (PDF)” (Pembina Institute) via CleanBreak.ca