Geothermal Workshop

08:30a.m - 9:00a.m

Registration and breakfast

09:00a.m - 09:15a.m

Prof. Claudio Cañizares; WISE Executive Director

09:15a.m - 09:55a.m

Dr. Catherine Hickson; President of Geothermal Canada (keynote speaker)

Presentation title: Renewable energy in the north–where does geothermal fit in?

09:55a.m - 10:15a.m

Prof. Maurice Dusseault; University of Waterloo

Presentation title: Drilling for heat: Accessing deep geothermal energy

10:15a.m - 10:35a.m

Prof. Jasmin Raymond; Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS)

Presentation title: Geothermal potential of remote northern communities: Research overview

10:35a.m - 10:50a.m

Coffee/tea break

10:50a.m - 11:10a.m

Dr. Randell Johnson; Acelerex Inc.

Presentation title: Geothermal: What, why, where, when, and how-much?

11:10a.m - 11:30a.m

Dr. Mafalda Miranda; Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS)

Presentation title: Assessing the deep geothermal energy potential of remote northern regions–A value of information problem

11:30a.m - 11:50a.m

Prof. Kamelia Atefi-Monfared; York University

Presentation title: Coupled thermal-hydraulic-mechanical processes in geothermal reservoirs: Clogging and formation damage

11:50a.m - 12:20p.m

Panel discussion

12:20p.m -13:20p.m

Lunch break and student posters

13:20p.m -13:40p.m 

Mr. Shawn Day (Barkley Project Group Ltd.) and Mr. Angus James Capot-Blanc Jr. (ADK Holdings Ltd.) 

Presentation title: Engaging northern and Indigenous communities

13:40p.m -14:00p.m

Mr. Andrew Wigston and Ms. Emma Wildeboer; Natural Resources Canada (NRCan)

Presentation title: Renewable Energy for Remote Diesel-Reliant Communities

14:00p.m - 14:20p.m

Mr. Angus James Capot-Blanc Jr. (ADK Holdings Ltd.) and Mr. Shawn Day (Barkley Project Group Ltd.)

Presentation title: Community-focused geothermal development: A case study of Acho Dene Koe First Nation, Fort Liard, NWT

14:20p.m - 14:40p.m

Mr. Daniel Alonso Torres (Barkley Project Group Ltd.) and Mr. Robin Groat (Daylu Dena Council)

Presentation title: Geothermal energy development by Daylu Dena Council

14:40p.m - 15:00p.m

Coffee/tea break

15:00p.m - 15:20p.m

Prof. Alice Friser; Université du Québec en Outaouais

15:20p.m - 15:40p.m

Dr. Stan Reitsma and Mr. Reaves Christie; GeoSource Energy Inc.

Presentation title: Improving technical and financial feasibility of closed-loop geo-exchange in northern communities

15:40p.m - 16:00p.m 

Mr. Jason Collard; Gonezu Energy Inc.

Presentation title: The realities and challenges of conducting research and developing renewable energy solutions for Indigenous communities within the Dehcho Region of the Northwest Territories

16:00p.m - 16:30p.m

Panel discussion

8:30a.m - 9:00a.m

Breakfast

09:00a.m - 9:15a.m

Defining the working session, forming groups, receiving the questions

09:15a.m - 10:45a.m

Participants will be assigned to groups where they will discuss prepared questions (and can also pose their own) related to the advancement of geothermal energy for northern Canada and remote communities. Thoughts and recommendations for each group will be recorded by a secretary.

10:45a.m - 11:00a.m

Coffee/tea break

11:00a.m -13:00 p.m

Each group will present their recommendations and thoughts to the other groups, and discussion will be encouraged.

13:00p.m

Workshop ends

Claudio Cañizares is a University Professor and Hydro One Endowed Chair in the electrical and computer engineering (ECE) department at the University of Waterloo, where he has held various academic and administrative positions since 1993. He is also the Executive Director of the Waterloo Institute for Sustainable Energy (WISE). Professor Cañizares is the recipient of the 2017 IEEE Power & Energy Society (PES) Outstanding Power Engineering Educator Award, the 2016 IEEE Canada Electric Power Medal, and multiple IEEE PES Technical Council and Committee awards and recognitions, holding leadership positions in several IEEE-PES Committees, Working Groups, and Task Forces. In 2021 and 2022, he received the Award for Excellence in Graduate Supervision from the University of Waterloo.

Dr. Catherine Hickson has over 40 years of experience in geothermal development ranging from scientist to technology expert to corporate executive. She has worked in multiple countries undertaking exploration and development projects ranging from low-temperature sedimentary environments to high-temperature volcanic systems.  Her experience includes 25 years as a Research Scientist for the Canadian Government (Geological Survey of Canada). She is currently the president of Geothermal Canada, as well as CEO of Alberta No.1. Alberta No. 1, is Alberta’s first conventional geothermal project taking place in the heart of Alberta’s most active hydrocarbon exploration and production region in the vicinity of Grande Prairie.  

Maurice is a Geological Engineering Professor at the University of Waterloo in Canada.   Three years of field experience as a roughneck and drilling fluids technician preceded his university education and research. With over 600 articles on analysis and physics issues related to subsurface engineering, he is an international geomechanics expert who has taught short courses on Geothermal Energy, CO₂ Sequestration, Earth Stresses, Drilling, Oil and Gas Production, and so on, over 140 times in 27 countries. He has served as an advisor to many corporations and governments, including New Brunswick, Alberta, and Québec. 

Jasmin Raymond (Associate Professor - Hydrogeology & Geothermics - INRS) 

Interested by heat transfer applied to Earth Sciences, Professor Raymond is a hydrogeologist conducting research on geothermal energy. His current projects involve very low to high temperature resources associated to both geothermal heat pumps and power production, spanned over four continents, from the arctic to the tropics, helping to develop sustainable energy solutions for growing needs of our society. Awardee of the Canadian Geotechnical Society, chair holder of the Institut nordique du Québec and granted by UNESCO, Professor Raymond leads the Laboratoire ouvert de géothermie to characterize thermophyscial properties of rocks essential to model geothermal systems of all kinds. The main objective of his projects, done in collaboration with geothermal designers, developers, manufacturers, and regulators, is to improve the efficiency and profitability of systems by providing scientific and social innovations.   

Dr. Randell M. Johnson, P.E. has led a 25-year career with engagements in 70 countries for valuation, design, planning, procurement, operations, and maintenance in grid networks, power production, and storage assets. Dr. Johnson is the founder and inventor of the Acelerex software systems. At Acelerex, Dr. Johnson has been involved in multiple engagements with national labs, regulators, governments, utilties, developers and OEMs for asset investment justification, asset operations and economics, and deriving lower cost alternatives for investment plans. Dr. Johnson has several decades of experience working with solar, wind, energy storage, hybrid, and fossil technologies. Acelerex also engages in the product of real time software control systems for power production and storage assets. Dr. Johnson was formerly Regional Director of Energy Exemplar and before that he was Team Lead for transmission strategy at Eversource Energy (formerly Northeast Utilities. Dr. Johnson was also Network Planning Manager at Mott MacDonald and ran a consulting team for grid design and grid investments in 40 countries and assisted with $35 billion of asset investments. Dr. Johnson has Bachelors in Electrical Engineering (1995) from University of Alaska, Masters in Electrical Power Engineering (1997) and doctoral degree (2004) in Electrical Power Engineering from RPI. Dr. Johnson has Masters in Mathematical Trading and Finance (2004) from Cass Business School in London.

Mafalda Miranda’s interest in geothermal energy started very early, when she visited a geothermal power plant on S. Miguel Island in the Azores Archipelago (Portugal). This interest in geothermal resources led her to take a degree in Geology and a Master in Geosciences at the University of Coimbra (Portugal). Her master thesis was supported by the EMSURE project - Energy and Mobility for Sustainable Regions and aimed at characterizing the thermophysical properties of granitic rocks in order to assess the deep geothermal energy potential of target areas in the central north of Portugal. After completing her master’s degree, Mafalda worked as a research assistant for 2.5 years at the Natural Radioactivity Laboratory of the University of Coimbra, where she continued to develop the geothermal research started during her master’s degree. This interest in geothermal energy led her to Quebec City in 2017, and in 2021 Mafalda earned a PhD in Earth Sciences at INRS. Her PhD thesis was supported by a research chair of the Institut Nordique du Quebec to assess the geothermal energy potential of northern Quebec. Mafalda’s thesis describes an approach to perform a first-order assessment of the deep geothermal energy source using geothermal exploration tools that are accessible to northern and remote communities facing critical energy issues and with important geothermal data gaps. Mafalda is currently a postdoctoral fellow at INRS, working under the supervision of Prof. Jasmin Raymond, conducting research on geothermal energy for remote northern communities.

Kamelia Atefi is an Associate Professor in the Lassonde School of Engineering at York University. She completed her Masters, Doctoral, and Postdoctoral studies in Civil Engineering at the University of Waterloo. Prior to joining York University in Aug 2020, she was an Assistant Professor in the Civil, Structural, and Environmental Engineering Department at the University at Buffalo, NY, since 2016. Dr. Atefi is a registered professional engineer in Ontario, and an Editorial Board Member of the Canadian Geotechnical Journal. She has over fourteen years of research experience in computational geomechanics, focused on coupled processes in porous media. Her research contributes to the development of resilient and sustainable energy production/storage technologies, and design for climate change through a fundamental understanding of coupled geomechanical processes (hydraulic-mechanical-thermal-dynamics). Her current research involves the enhancement of geothermal, hydrocarbon, and aquifer storage recovery systems; prediction of geo-environmental impacts of deep production/injection operations; tunneling in extreme geological settings; and bio-mediated soil improvement. 

Shawn Day (Barkley Project Group Ltd.) 

Shawn Day, B.Sc. (Honors) Geology, is a Project Coordinator and Geologist with Barkley Project Group. Shawn’s focus is on community engagement and community ownership of geothermal resources while helping to develop and explore for these resources. Shawn graduated from the University of Alberta and is a proud member of the Bigstone Cree Nation, part of Treaty 8 Territory in Northern Alberta. Shawn has spent his career planning and executing field sampling and drilling programs throughout Northern British Columbia and the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin in both the mining and energy industries. He is also an avid science and energy communicator and educator. Shawn also holds a 3^rd Class Power Engineering certificate with experience in operations and maintenance.

Angus James Capot-Blanc is from Fort Liard, Northwest Territories, and is a proud band member of Acho Dene Koe First Nation. Angus is the Community Geothermal Liaison in Fort Liard for the geothermal exploration project led by ADK Holdings Ltd., the economic development corporation of Acho Dene Koe First Nation. Angus has devoted himself to his culture for his community, as he runs the Fort Liard Handgames Society, where he teaches youth in the community to carry on the tradition of dene handgames. Angus travels to other communities in the North to attend Handgames tournaments, where he picks up his cultural knowledge from elders from other communities that he travels to. 

Emma Wildeboer is a technical advisor with the Renewable and Electrical Energy Division (REED) of Natural Resources Canada. REED is focused on delivering evidence-based programs and policies to support Canada’s transition to a net zero electricity grid. With a background in chemical engineering, Emma works on emerging technology files including geothermal, hydrogen, and energy storage. 

Alice Friser is a professor in the Department of Administrative Sciences at the Université du Québec en Outaouais (UQO). She is also a member of the public law research center at the Université de Montréal and the Social Responsibility and Sustainable Development research group at UQAM. With a master’s degree in environmental sciences and a Ph.D. in business administration (UQAM, 2019), she is interested in issues of social acceptability and corporate social responsibility, particularly in the context of the energy transition.

Stan and his partners founded Geosource Energy in 2004 with a focus on delivering vertical closed-loop geothermal systems, which is now the largest vertically integrated design-build geothermal constructor in Canada. Stan has a B.Sc. in Geological Engineering, M.Sc. in Earth Science, and a PhD in Civil Engineering. After spending 7 years as tenured faculty in Civil and Environmental Engineering at University of Windsor, Stan made the jump from academia to business to follow his passion for sustainable solutions and environmental protection. His tireless pursuit of innovation and improvements in all aspects of geothermal systems, has earned him the reputation as a global expert in the geo-exchange industry.

Reaves Christie, (Applications Technology Specialist, Geosource Energy)

As an Application Technology Specialist, Reaves is a technical leader and is proficient throughout the geo-exchange design and construction process from detailed design to construction, implementation and operation of ground-heat exchangers. An alumnus of the University of Waterloo, Reaves brings strong competencies in geological engineering principles and a diverse background of experience including the design, construction and monitoring of earth-filled dams, property management and construction.

Jason Collard (Gonezu Energy Inc.)

Originally from Ottawa, Jason has his Bachelor of Business from the University of Western Ontario and a Bachelor and Master in Education from the University of Ottawa, Ontario. In 2017, Jason moved to Fort Providence, NT and worked on a series of community development projects in the Dehcho region. In 2019, Jason transitioned to solely focusing on work in the Energy Sector.  Since then, he has been working with Dehcho First Nations (DFN) to develop a regional energy strategy and individual community energy plans. The work is largely guided by DFN resolution, with a focus on looking at renewable energy options that are “designed to maximize benefits to individual Dehcho communities.”Jason is a strategic and logistical planner with over 15 years of experience managing and supporting projects involving community engagement through a collective impact-based approach. Skilled in working with diverse organizations and finding common goals and developing effective work plans to achieve shared goals. Extensive experience in working with the community and regional Indigenous Governments and communities on community engagement, needs assessment, project development, and implementation.