The municipality of Springhill in Nova Scotia, Canada has for a rather long time been pushing geothermal energy as an option for its future. This – as reported locally last month – is now closer to becoming a reality.
A recently held annual energy symposium brought together shareholders and supporters of the development of the region’s green energy sector. Springhill has been for a long time a key case study for the utilisation of abandoned coal mines for geothermal heating.
As we reported earlier this year, a study has been conducted to explore on how geothermal energy could be used to attract businesses and potentially change life in the community. The deep exploration study of the mines was initiated in 2016 and was wrapped up in March 2018.
The next step is now a request for proposals for a future industrial park centred around the resource.
“When we envision this park, it is not a traditional industrial park with ugly factories and smokestacks going into the air,” Cumberland Energy Authority CEO Ray Hickey said. “We’re looking at something that’s going to incorporate the whole community and make Springhill an example for the county and maybe for the province or whole world in terms of an ideal community that’s built for the future.”
“The findings were very dramatic in the study. This facility [the community centre], which uses geothermal energy for making ice, the savings were between 48 and 56 per cent compared to traditional methods,” Hickey said. “Saving over half is quite the incentive.”
Industries where climate control or heating and cooling large areas sits high on their priority lists, Hickey said, would be an optimum fit for Springhill.
To learn more about the Cumberland Energy Authority, visit www.cumberland-energy-authority.ca.
Source: The Chronicle Herald