Close X
Tuesday, November 5, 2024
ADVT 
National

Ottawa funds development of B.C. geothermal field

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 12 Mar, 2021 10:24 PM
  • Ottawa funds development of B.C. geothermal field

Ottawa has committed more than $40 million to fund the development of geothermal power from a diminishing natural gas field in northern British Columbia.

"It will serve as a model for other geothermal facilities across the country, particularly in the North and rural communities," Natural Resources Minister Seamus O'Reagan said Friday.

The money

The money will be spent on the Clarke Lake field near the community of Fort Nelson, which is nearing depletion after nearly 60 years of production. That, combined with low natural gas prices, have reduced investment and employment from the resource.

The first full size geothermal well will be drilled early this year and commercial operation is expected by late 2024. The project is expected to generate up to 15 megawatts of green energy, which is enough to power up to 14,000 households and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 25,000 tonnes.

The project is entirely owned by the Fort Nelson First Nation, with involvement from the Saulteau First Nation. Fort Nelson Chief Sharleen Gale said the project will use the skills local workers already have, redirecting them from fossil fuels to geothermal.

"We are accomplishing all of this by using existing skill sets," she said. "This is a fast-forward for us to lead the energy transition."

A government press release said the Clarke Lake project will be one of Canada's first commercially viable geothermal electricity production facilities.

O'Reagan said Ottawa is also involved in other geothermal projects.

It has invested more than $25 million in a five-megawatt geothermal power plant near Estevan, Sask., and about the same for a similar facility near Grande Prairie, Alta.

It has also spent nearly $7 million for a project in Alberta near Rocky Mountain House and about $5 million for another one near Swan Hills.

"It's a great opportunity," said O'Reagan.

"It provides almost a safe harbour for a lot of workers who are currently displaced by the ups and downs of the oil and natural gas industries. Their skills in drilling and exploration are almost perfectly transferable to geothermal."

MORE National ARTICLES

PM to deliver national address on COVID-19

PM to deliver national address on COVID-19
The federal Liberals are expected to lay out plans for child care, affordable housing and navigating the economic fallout of the pandemic as part of throne speech cast in the shadow of rising COVID-19 cases.

PM to deliver national address on COVID-19

WATCH: Trump Says No To Being Part Of International Vaccine Initiative-Canada joins in

WATCH: Trump Says No To Being Part Of  International Vaccine Initiative-Canada joins in
WATCH: US rejects a global vaccine sharing effort but Canada supports 'Vaccine for all.'

WATCH: Trump Says No To Being Part Of International Vaccine Initiative-Canada joins in

Supreme Court weighs carbon tax constitutionality

Supreme Court weighs carbon tax constitutionality
In 2019, appeals courts in Saskatchewan and Ontario determined the policy was constitutional, while in February of this year the Alberta Court of Appeal said it was not.

Supreme Court weighs carbon tax constitutionality

Quebec woman faces charge of threatening Trump

Quebec woman faces charge of threatening Trump
Officials in the U.S. say the letter sent to Washington, D.C., was intercepted at a mail sorting facility on Friday before it reached the White House.

Quebec woman faces charge of threatening Trump

Teddy expected to propel storm surge

Teddy expected to propel storm surge
Chuck Porter, the minister responsible for Nova Scotia's Emergency Management Office, told reporters his biggest concern was the threat of storm surges accompanied by 10-metre waves.

Teddy expected to propel storm surge

Ottawa affirms Mi'kmaq treaty rights in lobster dispute

Ottawa affirms Mi'kmaq treaty rights in lobster dispute
Non-Indigenous fishermen have been protesting the Indigenous fishers' attempts to set lobster traps in St. Marys Bay during the off-season, which runs until the end of November.

Ottawa affirms Mi'kmaq treaty rights in lobster dispute