Work on Canada’s first national Deep Geothermal Roadmap is now under way. The Canadian Deep Geothermal Coalition has launched its consultative process, bringing together representatives of industry, government, and Indigenous groups to shape a strategy for developing geothermal energy in Canada.
The Roadmap is funded by Natural Resources Canada, with the Cascade Institute serving as the Coalition’s Secretariat. Its goal is to create the conditions for Canada to build geothermal projects at home and compete in a fast-growing global market.
Four working groups
Four working groups are examining the most pressing challenges and opportunities:
- Technology — surveying the technologies available to optimize geothermal energy extraction and setting R&D priorities, including drilling innovation, surface technologies, and reservoir characterization.
- Finance — exploring how to make projects more bankable and reduce risk for private and public investors, drawing on existing Canadian financing and risk-sharing structures as well as successful international models.
- Communities — identifying how geothermal projects can earn social support and deliver direct-use benefits to Canadian communities. This group leads on Indigenous engagement, co-ownership, and benefit-sharing, and addresses environmental concerns such as water use and induced seismicity.
- Competitiveness — pinpointing the market segments and regional strengths Canadian companies should prioritize, including opportunities for Indigenous collaboration, along with intellectual property considerations and Canada’s regulatory readiness.
Three supporting studies
Alongside the working groups, the Coalition will work with outside organizations on three studies:
- A Global Market Assessment estimating the size of the emerging geothermal market, which is growing quickly as countries and companies look for clean, reliable power, including for new demands such as AI.
- A Canadian Deployment Study modelling how geothermal could be adopted in Canada’s energy systems, and what that could mean for energy prices, GDP, productivity, and climate goals.
- A Supply Chain Analysis inventorying Canada’s globally competitive oil and gas sector to identify where those strengths can position Canada to lead in geothermal.
“This Roadmap will be a geothermal strategy—built for Canada, by Canadians,” said Emily Smejkal, Policy Lead with the Cascade Institute.
The Coalition is grateful to the industry experts, company leaders, geothermal advocates, and Indigenous leaders who are volunteering their time to the working groups. The full Roadmap is expected by the end of 2027.
Originally published by the Cascade Institute. Read the original release.