CALGARY, Alberta, Canada – On April 30, Calgary-based Eavor was joined by Rebecca Schulz, the Minister of Environment & Protected Areas, the Canadian Association of Energy Contractors, the Canadian Geothermal Energy Association, the Rural Municipalities Association, and Brazeau County to begin the planning and development of the Alberta Drilling Accelerator.
Led by the Government of Alberta, Eavor, and other stakeholders, the Alberta Drilling Accelerator (ADA) will represent a technology-agnostic, market-driven geothermal test site available for use by any geothermal company to enable novel drilling techniques and off-site technology development.
Eavor says he test bed will be the first of its kind in Canada, and will firmly establish Alberta as a global leader in geothermal technology commercialization and exports. The Alberta government is investing $750,000 to conduct a feasibility study led by Eavor Technologies and other stakeholders.
As well, the ADA will help ensure the province keeps pace with other government-supported geothermal test sites, such as Utah FORGE in the United States, the Continental Deep Drilling Programme in Germany, the Deep Drilling Project in Iceland, and China’s recently announced drilling program as geothermal technologies gain prominence across the globe.
“Alberta has been a global energy leader for more than a century, renowned for our skilled workforce, innovation and one of the largest oil and gas reserves on the planet,” said Rebecca Schulz, Minister of Environment & Protected Areas. “The proposed Alberta Drilling Accelerator presents enormous potential to help our province lead the next wave of energy projects here at home and around the world that reduce emissions, create jobs and enhance energy security.”
According to Eavor, the ADA will help establish Alberta as a global geothermal hub by promoting technology development and adoption to augment net-zero 2050 ambitions and energy security, per the Emissions Reduction & Energy Development Plan.
In a press release, the company says Alberta’s oil and gas sector positions the province as the ideal jurisdiction to scale innovative geothermal drilling methods and technologies by leveraging an “unparalleled labour pool and drilling assets to advance geothermal applications.”
“With cumulative geothermal investment poised to reach $1 trillion by 2050, a geothermal arms race is very much underway to commercialize novel drilling techniques that accelerate geothermal development – exhibited by testing facilities in the United States, China and Iceland,” said John Redfern, President and CEO of Eavor Technologies.
“As Canada’s first geothermal test bed, the Alberta Drilling Accelerator will help bring geothermal technologies to scale.”
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