Deep Geothermal Heating Potential for the Communities of the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin

Jacek Majorowicz and Stephen E. Grasby
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Jacek Majorowicz: Northern Geothermal Cons, Edmonton, AB T6R2J8, Canada
Stephen E. Grasby: Geological Survey of Canada, 3303 33 St NW, Calgary, AB T2L 2A7, Canada

Energies, 2021, vol. 14, issue 3, 1-37

Abstract: We summarize the feasibility of using geothermal energy from the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin (WCSB) to support communities with populations >3000 people, including those in northeastern British Columbia, southwestern part of Northwest Territories (NWT), southern Saskatchewan, and southeastern Manitoba, along with previously studied communities in Alberta. The geothermal energy potential of the WCSB is largely determined by the basin’s geometry; the sediments start at 0 m thickness adjacent to the Canadian shield in the east and thicken to >6 km to the west, and over 3 km in the Williston sub-basin to the south. Direct heat use is most promising in the western and southern parts of the WCSB where sediment thickness exceeds 2–3 km. Geothermal potential is also dependent on the local geothermal gradient. Aquifers suitable for heating systems occur in western-northwestern Alberta, northeastern British Columbia, and southwestern Saskatchewan. Electrical power production is limited to the deepest parts of the WCSB, where aquifers >120 °C and fluid production rates >80 kg/s occur (southwestern Northwest Territories, northwestern Alberta, northeastern British Columbia, and southeastern Saskatchewan. For the western regions with the thickest sediments, the foreland basin east of the Rocky Mountains, estimates indicate that geothermal power up to 2 MW el. (electrical), and up to 10 times higher for heating in MW th. (thermal), are possible.

Keywords: heat flow; deep geothermal heat; foreland basin; WCSB; energy transfer (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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