Canada's First Geothermal Electricity Production To Start In B.C.

Heat from the earth’s crust could soon be generating power in British Columbia, said a Vancouver-based mining company touting geothermal energy.

Crew Development Corporation recently acquired 100% ownership of the South Meager Geothermal project, located proximately 170 kilometres north of Vancouver. The site holds Canada’s sole geothermal lease for commercial electricity production, and has a potential to produce 250 megawatts of power, said Crew.

The company is coming back to the area after a 1993 joint venture with a California went under two years later because of the "generally unfavourable market climate for independent power producers in British Columbia," said Crew, in a news release. Hydrothermal fluids flowing at approximately 250 degrees Celsius at Meager Creek would be converted to steam and power conventional turbines to produce electricity with substantially lower emissions than conventional generation, the company said.

The B.C. government has since become more business-friendly and is encouraging the development of green energy resources, said Crew.

Days after Crew’s announcement, Bonneville Power Administration in Washington State said it signed an agreement to buy 49.9 megawatts of geothermal electricity from Calpine Corp. ’s project at Fourmile Hill in northern California.

Despite opposition by environmental groups and local tribes, exploratory drilling had already been approved and the plant is expected to begin operating in late 2004.

Calpine received an award of $20.8 million from the California Energy Commission under its new renewable account to help bring the project to fruition. If a commercially viable supply of steam is found and the official go-ahead is given by the state appeals board, BPA will pay about $57 a megawatt hour for 20 years. Current long-term market rates are nearly $50 per megawatt hour.

Geothermal technology produces more than 2,700 megawatts power from sites in the United States.