Gaining Steam

A regulatory framework for geothermal energy development must address several basic legal issues: • Clearly defining geothermal resources; • Clarifying ownership of the geothermal resource, along with a tenure (in the case of Crown ownership) and access process; • Establish a licensing regime enabling exploration and development of geothermal resources; 4 Simon Weides, Exploration of geothermal re [...] October 2020 Environmental Law Centre (Alberta) Society P a g e. | 3 GAINING STEAM: A REGULATORY AND POLICY FRAMEWORK FOR GEOTHERMAL ENERGY DEVELOPMENT IN ALBERTA EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Public Lands Act in the case of public lands and the Surface Rights Act in the case of private lands. [...] Geo- Shallow exchange less than 400m* & above the base of Directive for Water groundwater Wells and Ground protection Source Heat Exchange Systems Geothermal Resources Direct Heat Deep more than 400m* or below the base of groundwater Power protection Plants In Alberta, with its significant oil and gas industry, the potential overlap and synergy of the geothermal resource industry and the oil and g [...] October 2020 Environmental Law Centre (Alberta) Society P a g e. | 4 GAINING STEAM: A REGULATORY AND POLICY FRAMEWORK FOR GEOTHERMAL ENERGY DEVELOPMENT IN ALBERTA EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Path to Geothermal Resource Development: Eliminating Legislative & Policy Barriers Alberta’s lack of a comprehensive, effective regulatory and policy framework hinders the development of our geothermal resources. [...] As such, the background information and discussion for clearing the path to geothermal resource development is provided in several modules: • Module 1: Geothermal Energy and Alberta’s Current Regulatory Landscape • Module 2: The Missing Pieces in Alberta’s Regulatory Landscape and a Path Forward for Geothermal Energy Development • Module 3: Policy Support Mechanisms for Geothermal Energy Developme