Taking our geothermal data message to Canada

The Canadian geothermal energy industry just can't get no respect.  The Canadian Geothermal Energy Association (CanGEA) annual meeting got underway last night in Calgary, Alberta, with a sense of frustration but some emerging optimism that a new geothermal favorability map for Alberta will ignite interest from both industry and government and be a model for similar assessments nationwide.

Steve Richard and I were invited to the meeting to participate in a Mapping & Database workshop today to share the results of our work developing the National Geothermal Data System in the US and how it applies or might be deployed to Canada. 

We toured the geothermal exchange energy system at the Hotel LeGermain in downtown Calgary last night, across the street from the iconic Calgary Tower.  This three year old complex of hotel, adjacent office building, and condos, is powered by a series of 600-foot deep geothermal wells under the foundation.   This direct use of geothermal energy, rather than electricity production, may offer one of the best hopes for energizing this nascent resource in the region.