| Title | Geothermal resource potential of the Garibaldi Volcanic Belt, southwestern British Columbia (part of NTS 092J) |
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| Author | Grasby, S E ;
Ansari, S M; Calahorrano-Di Patre, A; Chen, Z; Craven, J A;
Dettmer, J; Gilbert, H; Hanneson, C; Harris, M; Liu, J;
Muhammad, M; Russell, K; Salvage, R O; Savard, G; Tschirhart, V; Unsworth, M J; Vigouroux-Caillibot, N; Williams-Jones, G |
| Source | Geoscience BC summary of activities 2019: energy and water; Geoscience BC, Report 2020-02, 2020 p. 103-107  Open Access |
| Links | Online - En ligne
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| Image |  |
| Year | 2020 |
| Alt Series | Natural Resources Canada, Contribution Series 20200048 |
| Publisher | Geoscience BC |
| Document | serial |
| Lang. | English |
| Media | paper; on-line; digital |
| File format | pdf |
| Province | British Columbia |
| NTS | 92J/05; 92J/06; 92J/11; 92J/12; 92J/13; 92J/14 |
| Area | Mount Meager |
| Lat/Long WENS | -123.8150 -123.2817 50.7522 50.4617 |
| Subjects | geophysics; hydrogeology; structural geology; Science and Technology; Nature and Environment; energy resources; geothermal energy; geothermal resources; geothermal potential; volcanoes; groundwater
temperatures; groundwater flow; flow rates; permeability; geophysical surveys; seismic surveys, ground; magnetotelluric surveys; gravity surveys, ground; bedrock geology; structural features; fractures; thermal springs; hot springs geochemistry;
Garibaldi Volcanic Belt; Renewable energy |
| Illustrations | location maps; photographs |
| Program | Geoscience for New Energy Supply (GNES) Geothermal Energy |
| Released | 2020 01 20 |
| Abstract | (unpublished)
Growing policy demand to shift the Canadian economy to one supported by renewable energy resources has raised interest in geothermal-energy potential. Compared to other
renewables, geothermal energy has numerous advantages, namely in its low environmental footprint and ability to provide a stable baseload-power supply without the need for energy-storage solutions. Much greater exploration risk related to finding hot
aquifers in the deep subsurface counters these advantages. The federal government's Geothermal Energy Program (1975-1985) provided essential insight into the thermal regime of Canada (Jessop, 2008; Grasby et al., 2011). This included highlighting
some of the highest temperature systems related to hot sedimentary basins (found in the Northwest Territories, Yukon, British Columbia [BC], Alberta and Saskatchewan), as well as volcanic belts (Yukon and BC). One particular success of this program
was geothermal-exploration wells drilled in the Garibaldi volcanic belt of southwestern BC, specifically on the southern flank of Mount Meager. This work defined high-temperature geothermal resources, exceeding 250°C (Jessop, 2008; Witter, 2019).
Despite this success, the project was never economically viable because flow rates were too low to justify the power-transition cost over the distance required. Essentially, the technical success of the exploration program was limited by the ability
to predict the occurrence of permeability at depth. To address this issue, a new research project was initiated to help reduce exploration risk for geothermal energy associated with volcanic systems, with a focus on the Garibaldi volcanic belt. As
part of the overall project goal, a multidisciplinary field program was conducted at Mount Meager in the summer of 2019, with a focus on developing novel tools to image zones of high permeability. This paper reports on the nature of the field program
and data collected. |
| Summary | (Plain Language Summary, not published)
Growing policy demand to shift the Canadian economy to one supported by renewable energy resources has raised interest in geothermal-energy potential.
Compared to other renewables, geothermal energy has numerous advantages, namely in its low environmental footprint and ability to provide a stable baseload-power supply without the need for energy-storage solutions. Much greater exploration risk
related to finding hot aquifers in the deep subsurface counters these advantages. The federal government's Geothermal Energy Program (1975-1985) provided essential insight into the thermal regime of Canada (Jessop, 2008; Grasby et al., 2011). This
included highlighting some of the highest temperature systems related to hot sedimentary basins (found in the Northwest Territories, Yukon, British Columbia [BC], Alberta and Saskatchewan), as well as volcanic belts (Yukon and BC). One particular
success of this program was geothermal-exploration wells drilled in the Garibaldi volcanic belt of southwestern BC, specifically on the southern flank of Mount Meager. This work defined high-temperature geothermal resources, exceeding 250°C (Jessop,
2008; Witter, 2019). Despite this success, the project was never economically viable because flow rates were too low to justify the power-transition cost over the distance required. Essentially, the technical success of the exploration program was
limited by the ability to predict the occurrence of permeability at depth. To address this issue, a new research project was initiated to help reduce exploration risk for geothermal energy associated with volcanic systems, with a focus on the
Garibaldi volcanic belt. As part of the overall project goal, a multidisciplinary field program was conducted at Mount Meager in the summer of 2019, with a focus on developing novel tools to image zones of high permeability. This paper reports on the
nature of the field program and data collected. |
| GEOSCAN ID | 326072 |
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