| Title | Heat transition for major communities supported by geothermal energy development of the Alberta Basin, Canada |
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| Author | Majorowicz, J A; Grasby, S E |
| Source | Geothermics vol. 88, 101883, 2020 p. 1-20, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geothermics.2020.101883 |
| Image |  |
| Year | 2020 |
| Alt Series | Natural Resources Canada, Contribution Series 20200089 |
| Publisher | Elsevier |
| Document | serial |
| Lang. | English |
| Media | paper; on-line; digital |
| File format | pdf; html |
| Province | Alberta |
| NTS | 72E; 72L; 72M; 73D; 73E; 73L; 73M; 74D; 74E; 74L; 74M; 82G; 82H; 82I; 82J; 82N; 82O; 82P; 83; 84 |
| Lat/Long WENS | -120.0000 -110.0000 60.0000 49.0000 |
| Subjects | geophysics; regional geology; Science and Technology; Nature and Environment; geothermal resources; geothermal energy; geothermal potential; thermal power; electric power; thermal electric power plants;
geothermal temperatures; groundwater flow; flow rates; urban planning; geothermal gradient; bedrock geology; lithology; sedimentary rocks; sandstones; dolomites; dolostones; limestones; igneous rocks; intrusive rocks; granites; production; basins;
Alberta Basin; Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin; Rocky Mountains Disturbed Belt; Woodbend Group; Grosmont Formation; Cooking Lake Formation; Leduc Formation; Beaverhill Lake Group; Swan Hills Formation; Slave Point Formation; Elk Point Group; Pine
Point Formation; Wabamun Group; Winterburn Group; Nisku Formation; Rundle Group; Charles Formation; Banff Formation; Manville Unconformity; Heating; Energy use; Community infrastructures; Population; Phanerozoic; Mesozoic; Cretaceous; Paleozoic;
Carboniferous; Mississippian; Devonian; Cambrian |
| Illustrations | pie charts; location maps; geoscientific sketch maps; tables; profiles; plots |
| Program | Geoscience for New Energy Supply (GNES) Geothermal Energy |
| Released | 2020 06 05 |
| Abstract | We examined the potential of geothermal energy to supply power and heat for larger communities (population > 10,000) located over the Alberta Basin in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin (WCSB). The
major cities and seven towns in Alberta examined, with a combined total population of >2,500,000 people, were scrutinized for their geothermal potential. Depending on T (°C) and production rate (kg/s) the range of households that are feasible to be
heated is in the 100's to 1000's for produced water >70 °C and flow rates of 30-80 kg/s. These are available in most of the deep foreland basin in western Alberta and in most of the larger population centers, outside the shallow and 'cold' parts of
the basin in the east. As space heating is the dominant energy demand in Canada, with single households representing ~80% of energy usage, the geothermal heating transition in Alberta would be the best option for municipalities. Power production is
feasible in just a few Alberta communities located over the deeper parts of the basin, still requiring >140 °C temperatures and high production rates (>80 kg/s) due to low efficiency of power plants (some 10%) and economics of the system. The range
of the feasible net power production is assessed between single decimals of MW electrical and up to maximum of 2.7 MW in deep hot high production systems. |
| Summary | (Plain Language Summary, not published)
This paper examines the potential for geothermal energy to meet both power and heat demands for larger communities of Alberta. |
| GEOSCAN ID | 326258 |
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