Geothermal resources for energy transition: A review of research undertaken for remote northern Canadian communities

Abstract

The sustainable development of Canada’s north is a growing challenge. Nearly 134,000 people, mostly Indigenous, live typically in a diesel-dependent dynamic, and thus initiatives to deploy clean technologies for heat and electricity are ongoing. Research is underway in the Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut to assess geothermal resources of target communities while techno-economic feasibility of geothermal technologies is being evaluated in Nunavik (Quebec). Results suggest that geothermal technologies can provide important carbon reductions and are economically attractive. While shallow systems can be deployed in a short-term period, deep systems are a long-term objective that may provide sufficient energy to meet communities’ heavy heating needs.

Keywords

• arctic
• geothermal potential
• ground-coupled heat pumps
• borehole thermal energy storage
• engineered geothermal systems
• hybrid geothermal systems