| Title | Regina: The design of one of Canada’s first deep direct-use geothermal doublet |
|---|---|
| Authors | Name J.W. Poessé, S.J. Bolton, G. Lekmine, N. Struthers, M. Macpherson, K. Shular |
| Year | 2026 |
| Conference | World Geothermal Congress |
| Keywords | |
| Abstract | Direct-use geothermal energy has been utilised intensively for decades. Examples can be found in France since the 1970s for district heating, Australia since the 2000s for the heating of large aquatic facilities and the Netherlands since the 2010s for greenhouse heating. The rising costs of fossil fuels and desire for renewable energy sources has resulted in a steady growth of geothermal projects and provide suitable examples for other countries to follow. The City of Regina in Saskatchewan, Canada, is planning a deep, direct-use geothermal heating system for a new indoor aquatic facility in the middle of the city. The subsurface targets for heating the aquatic facility in Regina are more than 2,000 m deep. These consist of the hypersaline Winnipeg and Deadwood aquifers which are expected to produce 60°C water at a flow rate of 44 L/s. This presentation will focus on the significant challenges that remain in a cost-effective, lasting design of such a system. These include understanding of the aquifer under operational conditions, thermal break-through, well orientation and deviation, material selection, as well as clogging and scaling. The design of the deep Regina geothermal system is heavily supported by learnings and advancements from similar geothermal projects in the Netherlands, France and Australia. The design of the geothermal system for Regina is one of Canada’s firsts and will be a showcase for further geothermal developments within Canada and world-wide. |