Geothermal energy could meet half of B.C.'s electricity needs
No greenhouse gases would result from tapping underground magma-heated water
Chad Skelton
Vancouver Sun
Monday, December 24, 2007
B.C. is sitting on a potential gold mine of clean energy in the form of superheated water located deep beneath the Earth's surface, says a researcher at the University of B.C.
Indeed, Mory Ghomshei, a professor of energy resources and systems, said such geothermal energy is so plentiful it could meet much of our future energy needs with virtually no greenhouse gas emissions.
What makes B.C. such a promising site for geothermal power is the same thing that puts us at increased risk of earthquakes: our location atop a subduction zone where the Earth's tectonic plates meet.
This instability causes magma to rise towards the surface, heating up any water it touches.
The most promising geothermal sites, said Ghomshei, are concentrated in a few regions of the province, such as the Garibaldi/Pemberton range and the Queen Charlotte Islands.
The volcanic activity underneath often appears at the surface in the form of hot springs.
But that's nothing compared to the water two to three kilometres down, which can be anywhere from 200 C to 300 C.
Since water at that depth is under extreme pressure, it stays in liquid form.
But when brought to the surface, said Ghomshei, it converts into steam, which can be used to power electrical turbines.
Geothermal power plants are already in use in Iceland, the United States and the Philippines.
Ghomshei said there are enough potential geothermal sites in B.C. to provide anywhere from 3,000 to 5,000 megawatts of constant electricity -- enough power to meet roughly half of B.C.'s current energy needs.
And BC Hydro has identified geothermal power as a potential source of clean energy.
But at the moment, B.C. doesn't get any of its electricity from geothermal power.
Ghomshei, who does paid consulting work on geothermal projects, said that's in part because B.C.'s main source of power -- hydroelectric dams -- is so cheap.
Once a geothermal plant is up and running, he said, it produces electricity relatively cheaply.
The problem is the search for geothermal power, like mining, is a high-risk enterprise.
"The first three, four wells that you drill until you confirm the resource might cost you $20 [million to] $30 million and small private companies cannot do that," he said. "You need money to take the risks [and] not all the wells will be successful."
He said he'd like to see the government offer subsidies to geothermal power as a way of helping Canada meet its greenhouse gas commitments.
Ghomshei's prediction for the potential of geothermal power is one of several ideas highlighted by UBC in its third annual Next Big Thing survey, which asked its researchers about the developments they see on the horizon.
Some of the other ideas included in the survey are:
- How instant HIV tests could help public health authorities to reduce the spread of AIDS by encouraging people to change risky behaviour as soon as they contract the virus, which is when they're most infectious.
- How Internet security could be improved by having people use a virtual ID card that would permit them access to a variety of different websites, instead of using a different password for each site.
© The Vancouver Sun 2007
Posted by Arthur Caldicott on 24 Dec 2007