Gordon Brasnett specializes in techno-economic modelling, policy analysis and risk assessment as a fellow in the Cascade Institute\u2019s Ultradeep Geothermal Program. Leighton Gall is the program\u2019s technical and Indigenous energy lead. Peter Massie leads the Cascade Institute\u2019s Geothermal Energy Office. <\/p>\n
Canada is on thin ice if it can\u2019t defend its Northern sovereignty. Warming is making the Arctic more accessible and vulnerable, and powerful countries \u2013 including a newly predatory United States \u2013 are moving to secure influence in the region. <\/p>\n
But one factor above all others handicaps our ability to defend that sovereignty: energy<\/a> costs in the Canadian Arctic are among the world\u2019s highest. Most Northern communities, military bases and industrial sites rely almost entirely on diesel burned in generators and shipped from the South. For decades, this polluting system has been vulnerable to disruption and absurdly expensive. <\/p>\n The solution is nearby. Beneath the frozen Arctic landscape lies an abundant source of low-cost energy: geothermal heat<\/a>. By drilling kilometres into the Earth, Northern communities can tap this heat directly for needs like food cultivation and space heating, or convert it into low-carbon, all-season electricity. Geothermal electricity plants actually perform best in cold climates, because they leverage the differential between the hot temperatures underground and cool temperatures at the surface.<\/p>\n Until recently, engineers could tap geothermal power only where hot rock and a naturally occurring water reservoir were relatively close to the surface. But new breakthroughs \u2013 hybrid drill bits that slice through granite, automated rigs that steer with surgical precision and closed-loop well designs that harvest heat without relying on underground water \u2013 have expanded the geological conditions where geothermal energy sources can be viable. <\/p>\n Opinion: How can Alberta and Ottawa be friends again? It begins with drilling<\/a><\/p>\n Over the last few years, the U.S. has blazed a path with its Frontier Observatory for Research in Geothermal Energy (FORGE)<\/a> \u2013 a test site in Utah that brings together government, academia and industry to build next-generation geothermal capabilities. FORGE is now attracting hundreds of millions of dollars of private-sector investment.<\/p>\n Canada should build on FORGE\u2019s lessons to launch Project AURORA \u2013 the Arctic Underground Research Observatory for Resource Advancement. Project AURORA<\/a> would consist of one or more Northern test sites that design and adapt next-generation geothermal tech for the Arctic\u2019s challenging terrain.<\/p>\n The project would generate immediate local economic activity, but that gain would be just the start. As a living laboratory, designed together with Arctic Indigenous partners, AURORA would accrue knowledge and experience to drive down energy production costs and allow geothermal deployment across the North. <\/p>\n The Cascade Institute estimates that \u2013 even at today\u2019s drilling costs \u2013 an enhanced geothermal system could power the town of Resolute Bay, Nunavut, for 30 years at costs competitive with diesel. With AURORA improving geothermal\u2019s economics, the end result would be enormous flows of reliable, far cheaper energy in the Arctic that enable growth, boost Indigenous communities and power Canada\u2019s military presence. <\/p>\n And these advances needn\u2019t stay in the Arctic. Canada would develop portable, turnkey, hard-rock drilling capacity that it could deploy across the country and export worldwide. The global market for next-generation geothermal energy is projected to exceed $2-trillion<\/a> by 2050. <\/p>\n 2024: Oil and gas expertise gives Canada leverage in geothermal development<\/a><\/p>\n Canada has the know-how, the people and the resources to seize this opportunity. Canadians are already leading some of the most advanced geothermal projects outside the country. These experts can be encouraged to come home and work with our domestic oil-and-gas industry on geothermal. <\/p>\n Investments in Project AURORA could also be counted toward Canada\u2019s defence infrastructure spending. Our military engineers \u2013 familiarly known as \u201csappers<\/a>,\u201d whose motto is Ubique, or \u201cEverywhere\u201d\u2013 have a long history of solving technical challenges in extreme conditions. Just as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers defined its global leadership by building dams, waterways, and levees, Canada\u2019s sappers, working with our energy innovators in the Arctic, could propel us to global leadership in geothermal power. <\/p>\n