The town of Hinton in Alberta, population 10,000, announced a partnership with Epoch Energy September 28 to advance Hinton Geothermal, a district energy heating system that will use heat from one or more former oil wells to supply the town with energy – initially with heat, and in the future electric power.
Hinton and surrounding area has long been home to oil and gas exploration. There are over 4000 wells drilled below 2,500m within a 70km radius of the town, some of which have bottom-hole temperatures higher than 140 degrees Celsius. The region is a hotspot of geothermal potential from hot water aquifers in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin.
“We are experiencing a confluence of circumstance that set the stage for the Hinton geothermal project – a price on carbon that affects municipal heating budgets, low commodity prices that affect balance sheets of energy producers to prompt a look for new ways to get a return on sunk drilling costs, and investment capital that is hungry for a move to clean, green energy projects,” said Lisa Mueller, President and CEO of Epoch Energy Development. “Epoch Energy Development is partnering with Hinton to create a compelling local energy story that puts Albertans back to work and creates a legacy of green economic development.”
A feasibility project will be completed to finalize the scope of the district heating facilities, develop a detailed capital and operating cost model, and confirm the economic viability of Hinton Geothermal through a comprehensive financial model.
“We have been exploring the geothermal potential in our immediate area for over a year. Hinton has thousands of oil/gas wells in the immediate vicinity of the town and many of these can provide the geothermal energy potential we need versus having to go the expense of drilling new holes and starting from scratch,” Mackin explained.
Hinton Town Council has entered into a Letter of Intent with Epoch Energy and will be advancing efforts to complete the feasibility study for this project. Pre-feasibility work is underway and meetings with key stakeholders and partners are taking place.
Phase one of the pilot project includes heating many Town-owned buildings, the Hinton Training Centre, and a local high school. Future phases will explore expanded commercial, institutional and possible residential use of geothermal heat.
Epoch Energy Development Inc. was established to unlock heat energy in Alberta and Canada. Epoch commercializes geothermal resources in partnership with municipalities, First Nations, resource companies, utilities and food growers.