The scientific consensus declares that we must reduce the use of carbon-based energy. It is essential to mitigate climate change. The most immediate need is to cut emissions from fossil fuels. This means less, not more, production of oil, gas, and coal. A peer-reviewed study from University College London calculated that of the 2018 reserve base, 58% of oil, 56% of fossil methane gas and 89% of coal is unextractable.
Governments of Canada and three western provinces ignore the science.
Decarbonization is a catchword used by the fossil fuel and nuclear power industries. But those groups cannot eliminate inherent dangers. Unless we develop safe, carbon-free energy sources, we cannot sustain current standards of living. And, perhaps we cannot sustain human life in the long-term.
But, as billions of public dollars pour into subsidies of dangerous power sources, lifesaving technologies seem to get minimal support from governments.
While Canada was committing about $50 billion for two new fossil fuel pipelines to the west coast, the federal government threw relative peanuts to Calgary based Eavor Technologies Inc. Peanuts being C$6.7 million toward the cost of Eavor’s zero-carbon, conduction-based, geothermal demonstration near Rocky Mountain House, Alberta.
Geothermal systems are environmentally friendly, almost zero-carbon energy sources. Another advantage is that output is continuous and dispatchable, not intermittent. But rather few places are suitable for traditional geothermic solutions.
Using directional drilling techniques common in oil and gas fields, Eavor creates a closed loop energy generating system that requires no unusual conditions. The company says its scalable systems can be placed almost anywhere.
Liquid within the Eavor-Loop™ collects heat from the ground, not unlike the way circulating fluid in a vehicle’s cooling system gathers heat from the internal combustion engine. It is a zero-emissions energy source. The company’s video explains:
Canada has not been generous in encouraging geothermal developments. Other nations are more willing. Japan’s Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. made a direct investment in Eavor and agreed to support the commercialization of Eavor-Loop™ technology. It is expected to hold 40 percent of the German project noted below.
In 2023, the EU’s Innovation Fund awarded C$133 million in support of an EAVOR-LOOP project in Geretsried, Germany. It will be the first commercial-scale implementation of Eavor’s closed-loop geothermal technology.
Were Canada to embrace Eavor’s technology, people now employed in drilling for gas and oil could easily move to jobs in these clean energy systems. Collectively, Canadians have much to gain, but in 2023, our governments lack the will to make a timely transition.
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Categories: Climate Change, Energy
in-sights.ca 
Thanks Norm for bringing the potential of advanced geothermal energy to the attention of your readers. As Eavor Technologies has demonstrated, AG energy is no longer a pipe dream. It is now cost competitive and scalable and the energy world is very interested. Eavor has over 200 projects in its pipeline. This is mind blowing stuff.
In addition, the skill set and equipment developed in the oil & gas industry is directly transferable to the nascent AG energy industry which can make for a realistic workforce transition from oil & gas to geothermal.
Of course, the BC NDP & BC United parties are shackled to the oil & gas industry so it is unlikely you will see either party supporting or promoting advanced geothermal. The same applies in Alberta. This leaves the lane open for the BC Green party to prioritize and push in next year’s election. I have been dialoguing with the BC Greens on this topic and it looks like they recognize the potential.
The oil & gas sector is a sunset industry and by supporting it the government is leading its workforce to slaughter – death by a thousand cuts. The future is sustainable, renewable energy like wind, solar and advanced geothermal. If we are to benefit from this new reality then this province needs to get on board. Right now the only political party that seems to have that figured out is the BC Greens. I urge your readers to get involved with BC Greens so we can make this transition happen. The two legacy parties have no interest. Sorry for the political plug.
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I don’t mind the political plug. BC Greens are the only significant political party in BC not in the pockets of destructive industries that value short-term profits more than humanity’s long-term survival.
If we are to make real progress in addressing the climate crisis, we cannot rely on other parties. NDP and Bcup may say the right things at times, but their record shows them to be de facto climate science deniers. Conservatives are outright deniers. No pretence from folks who trust their own uninformed opinions more than those of experts who study the subject.
Media has trouble honestly describing the people who stand in the way of climate action.
A few years ago, Associated Press told its writers:
The Guardian had a good response:
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For those of us who are collecting a pension: in our lifetimes, the world’s population has doubled from 4 billion to 8 billion.
That’s a big part of the world’s problem, as every new consumer brings a need for more food, water and all the goods and services that are needed to sustain life… and for all the stuff that isn’t needed but ‘wanted.’
China’s One Child policy was fraught with problems but we need to have population control in the package of solutions.
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Agreed that population control is needed for long-term survival of humans. In terms of moderating population growth, Canada is doing that without government dictates. Young people might be surprised to learn that birth control was illegal in Canada until 1969. The rhythm method was suggested as the way for family planning. But, when I was a young man at UBC long ago, a doctor speaking to a large group at the Fort Camp residence said, “We have a name for people who rely on the rhythm system… We call them parents.”
According to Statistics Canada:
It is commonly believed that religion has a lot to do with large families. Washington Post reported that “Catholics oppose contraception, Mormons see it as a sacred duty to procreate, and so do members of the Quiverfull movement or other evangelical schools of thought that encourage large broods.”
Some observant Jews believe in large families. The Chabad-Lubavitch group states:
In most cases, large families are probably encouraged through traditions from places and times where infant deaths were common and social safety nets were unavailable to protect the elderly. Old folks once relied on their children to provide care.
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All those adverts we see on TV from Hydro, Fortis and the BC government about how “green” or Carbon Neutral” they are are nothing more than Goebbelsrsque Propaganda.
There are lies, damned lies and go Green lies.
To go “Green” means we must consume less, travel less, and a complete rethink of how we live and much more.
The government is hell bent building new highways, instead of investing in regional rail; the government is allowing the trucking industry to dictate how goods are carried, instead of forcing goods onto trains; we hugely subsidize air travel; we are using up valuable farm lands for housing instead of offering incentives for people to live outside the Metro area; we are not planting more trees, which are one of the best carbon sinks around and all the government does is hire more spin doctors, ups the ante on lying; and promotes fossil fuels.
We now live in an Orwellian age of untruths, fake news and government alternative facts.
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I think there is a little bit of green washing going on with geo thermal heat pumps as a solution. Yes maybe on the west coast but I have lived through 40+ years nearby by RMH Alberta in the past and geo thermal is not even close to being a heat provider in the grips of Alberta winter. I just had my methane producing high efficient furnace serviced by a very knowledgeable tech here in the North Okanagan and put the question to him.
Asked him how many installs he has done. Air conditioners..tons..geothermal basically very very few. He said the push comes from Fortis and of course you still need BC Hydro and site C will help you there with a great rate in the future to turn the pump. Never mind the install cost. It has a very limited range of practicality.
To continue with our current lifestyle the manufacturing renewable footprint will not be able to sustain a growing population that demand more. We have
to come to the party and change our high energy use lifestyle or lights out.
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I share your concern about individual heat pumps. Experience in our family has shown that modern technologies can have reliability problems and rather high repair and replacement costs. For example, we’re on our second on-demand hot water system. The first failed rather frequently and had to be replaced after a few years. The current model was down every few months until a major repair was done. We saved dollars on energy purchases but repair costs exceeded that by a multiple factor. Someone else I know has had similar experience with their heat pump.
Individual homes using geothermal heating are quite rare because costs are high and payback periods long. Damage to underground components may require costly repairs: In rare instances, tree roots, shifting soil, and even rodents can damage the underground loops of a geothermal system. If this happens, repairing the equipment could be a major setback.
But Eavor’s system looks very interesting. It is suited for district energy systems that distribute energy to multiple buildings in a specific area. The company says:
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Thks Norm..Good news is as rare as hen’s teeth these days.
If it does work I hope the cost is such that it can be scaled up.
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