Direct Use Geothermal Projects State of the Nation in Canada 2018

摘要

Canada is the world's second largest country by land area, with a total area of 9.9 million km2 and population of 35.3 million. Gross domestic product places Canada among the top fifteen global economies. Energy consumption for the Canadian residential and commercial sectors is high for a small population affected by the cold climate. The Geological Survey of Canada concluded that Canada "has enormous geothermal energy resources that could supply the country with a renewable and clean source of power" but that sufficient data to quantify the geothermal resource existed for only 40% of the Canadian landmass. As such, both high-temperature power production opportunities as well as low-temperature direct use and geo-exchange opportunities exist throughout the country, but there has been very limited development of the Canadian geothermal resource to date. It is estimated that over 5,000 MWe is available from shallow geothermal resources, including hot sedimentary aquifers, using current technology. To date, no power projects have been commissioned in Canada, however, there are substantially more opportunities with low-temperature resources, particularly direct use applications and the use of geothermal heat pumps.