Canada :

Canadian Oil Sands – Geothermal Could Lower Greenhouse Gas Emissions (Beacon News)

Oil Sand Areas in Canada
(Courtesy globe-net)

Could geothermal heat hold the key to reducing greenhouse emissions in the Canadian oil sands? Two University of Alberta researchers think so.

Martyn Unsworth and Inga Moeck are exploring the potential of using geothermal energy to generate power for the Canadian oil sands region.

Currently, natural gas is used to heat water for Canadian oil sands bitumen processing, which accounts for about six per cent of total Canadian consumption. Eliminating natural gas consumption could both lower costs for industry and reduce greenhouse emissions.

Because geothermal resources (warm rock and hot water) in northern Alberta are much deeper in the Earth than in naturally volcanic regions, Unsworth and Moeck are proposing an “enhanced geothermal system,” or EGS. This technique involves fracturing the rock and pumping water through to harness the heat—demonstrating that fracking can also be used for green purposes.

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