A New Boost for the Geothermal Industry In British Columbia? - New insights from the past could re-ignite the South Meager Geothermal project

摘要

Recently uncovered data by Geoscience BC answers a three decade-old question: Why was a very high temperature geothermal system explored but abandoned multiple times over the years? Dr. Jeff Witter (Innovate Geothermal Ltd. and a GRC Board Member) tells the story to the Geothermal Resources Council student committee. The province of British Columbia (BC), host to the majority of potentially active volcanic areas in Canada, has been at the forefront of geothermal energy development in the country. According to province utility BC Hydro, 18 prospective geothermal sites have been identified. One particular initiative, the South Meager Geothermal project, has been explored multiple times; first in the early 1980s and later on in 2006. For reasons unknown to the general public at the time, the South Meager Geothermal project came to a halt in 2008 causing it to be labeled as a failure by the energy community. However, proprietary data recently made public by Geoscience BC has helped to shed new light on this story. Dr. Jeff Witter, Principal Geoscientist at Innovate Geothermal Ltd., kindly agreed to shed some light on past, current, and future research and development at the site.