Canada should establish shared geothermal test centres to help companies prove emerging technologies and turn the country’s drilling expertise into commercial energy projects, according to Peter Massie, director of the Cascade Institute’s Geothermal Energy Office.
Speaking with Energi Media, Massie identified subsurface uncertainty and expensive drilling as major obstacles. Shared facilities could give developers access to underground infrastructure, improve geological knowledge and support nearby commercial projects.
He pointed to Utah FORGE and Alberta’s earlier oil sands research efforts as examples of public investment supporting energy innovation. The Canadian Deep Geothermal Coalition is also developing a policy roadmap addressing exploration risk and technology development.
Geothermal could supply reliable electricity to industrial customers, including data centres and LNG facilities, while providing direct heat. Enhanced geothermal and closed-loop systems could broaden development opportunities, although performance and economics require demonstration across different geological settings.
Massie highlighted Western Canada, including British Columbia’s Mount Meager, and opportunities for drilling equipment suppliers. He argued that repeated drilling can reduce costs and that geothermal should be compared with other new sources of firm electricity.
Massie brings federal energy policy and research experience to that argument. Before joining the Cascade Institute, he served as Manager and Acting Director of Strategic Policy and Techno-Economic Analysis in Natural Resources Canada’s Office of Energy R&D.
His work there used modelling to assess emerging technologies’ contributions to decarbonization. He also held positions in federal electricity and oil policy, and earned a master’s degree in sustainable energy policy from Carleton University.
At Cascade, his focus is advancing geothermal as abundant baseload electricity grounded in Canada’s existing energy strengths and capabilities.
Source: Energi Media.
