Canada: Valemount Geothermal Project Waiting on Drilling Permit

Geothermal energy optimism heats up (Business in Vancouver)

Small geothermal demonstration project in Valemount enjoys all party support.

Regardless of whether the BC NDP government decides to finish or cancel Site C dam, proponents of geothermal power are now hopeful that at least one small demonstration project may move forward. They hope that it will prove that geothermal energy can be developed in B.C. for a reasonable price, despite the costly failures of the past.

The project is near Valemount, B.C., which lies just outside of Mount Robson Provincial Park. It was recently the subject of “raging agreement” in the legislature, where all three parties voiced support for the project.

The one holdup has been a drilling permit, which is still awaiting cabinet approval. Once that is granted, Borealis GeoPower would drill a test well to determine the energy potential of a hot aquifer at Canoe Reach near Valemount.

The first phase of a three-phase project would be hot springs that the Valemount Geothermal Society wants to develop. The second phase would be a small power plant that would produce one megawatt (MW) of electricity – nearly enough to supply the town of Valemount (population 1,100). The third phase would be a larger, 15-MW power plant.

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