Torquay, Saskatchewan – a small village within minutes of the US border to North Dakota – could soon be put on the map as the location of Canada’s first geothermal power facility.
Over the last 10 years, Saskatchewan’s Deep Earth Energy Production Corp (DEEP) has been developing the concept of geothermal-sourced electrical power. Using conventional drilling methods, last November the company drilled a 3,530-metre well – the deepest in the province – to reach a Hot Sedimentary Aquifer in the Williston Basin. By applying established geothermal production technology to a deep hot aquifer, DEEP’s goal is to use heat mining to produce sustainable, renewable power.
Black Diamond was among the suppliers providing equipment to facilitate the work on-site. This August, the Energy Services team in Estevan, Saskatchewan provided 61 assets – a contract that was assembled and delivered in only a few days. The tanks and containment are currently being used to store hot water that is extracted from the well, with the intention that, in the future, it will be used in an Organic Rankine Cycle power plant to produce electricity.
If everything goes according to plans, DEEP aims to have renewable power to the grid in the next few years. In addition to producing sustainable, renewable energy, hot water from geothermal reservoirs can be used in other capacities, such as space heating, aquaculture and in greenhouses.
The project has garnered millions in private investment and public funding, both provincial and federal. It has also attracted the attention of large entities like Natural Resources Canada and SaskPower, as well as municipalities, First Nations, resource companies and industry.
Involvement with this project demonstrates the diversity of Black Diamond’s oilfield assets outside the oil and gas sector.
Learn more about Black Diamond's Energy Services on our website:
https://www.blackdiamondgroup.com/our-businesses/energy-services/
