The completion of a collaborative research project is sparking new interest for geothermal electricity generation at the Mount Meager and Mount Cayley sites in British Columbia, Canada.
The Garibaldi Geothermal Volcanic Belt Assessment Project has created one of the most comprehensive studies of geothermal potential energy ever conducted at Mount Meager, near Pemberton, as well as focussing on Mount Cayley southwest of Whistler. This major collaboration has included Geoscience BC, the Geological Survey of Canada, seven Canadian universities and the Li?l?wat and Squamish Nations.
“Significant improvements have been made in our understanding of geothermal potential of the Garibaldi Volcanic Belt. The enormous amount of new data collected would not have been possible without the support of Geoscience BC. The publicly available results of this work will hopefully continue to spur new interest in the exploration for renewable geothermal energy in British Columbia as part of the clean energy transition,” said Steve Grasby, Geological Survey of Canada Research Scientist and Geothermal Canada President.
More than 50 reports, papers, maps and data files for Mount Meager and Mount Cayley are available for download now from the Geoscience BC website. A further summary and analysis paper is expected to be published in 2025. Additional research papers will also be added to the web page as they are published.
The research has already helped to attract new investment into Meager Creek Development Corporation’s Meager Creek geothermal project, where the company plans to produce hydrogen from green geothermal electricity.
The level of detail gathered about geothermal systems at Mount Meager has allowed for new techniques to be developed and tested there and at Mount Cailey. These assessment techniques can be used to reduce risk and increase efficiency of geothermal exploration projects elsewhere in the Garibaldi Volcanic belt, in Canada and internationally.
“As we have worked to build the development plan for the MCDC project the quality of the work done by Geoscience BC continually impresses our team. Without the data and reports developed by their team we would never have gotten to the point we are,” commented Richard Hawker, Meager Creek Development Corporation (MCDC) President.
This fundamental, innovative and collaborative geothermal research provides the data that industry, communities, Indigenous groups, government and others need to make decisions about investing in clean energy in the region,” added Randy Hughes, Geoscience BC Manager, Energy and Water.
What next?
Geoscience BC is currently looking for partners for further geothermal research in BC:
- Northwest BC Geothermal Energy Potential Assessment
- Fourth phase of the Kootenay Lake Geothermal Project
Interested parties are encouraged to get in touch via info@geosciencebc.com.
Source: Geoscience BC
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