| Summit AwardAPEGA Summit Award Winner: Women in Engineering and Geoscience Champion Award, for co-chairing Canadian Coalition of Women in Engineering Science, Trades and Technology (CCWESTT) 2018, Biennial Conference | Award | 2019-04-23 | Lianne Michelle Lefsrud |
| Geothermal Energy in Canada – Times Are “a Changing”Review of geothermal energy development in Canada University of Alberta | Publication | 2020-10-12 | "Catherine Hickson", "Jasmin Raymond", "Maurice Dusseault", "Tiffany Fraser", "Katie Huang", Kirsten Marcia Marcia Kirsten, "Mafalda Miranda", "Bastien Poux", "Katherine Fiess", "Grant Ferguson", "Janis Dale", Jonathan C. Banks, Unsworth, M., "Brian Brunskill", "Steve Grasby", "Jeff Witter" |
| Power Relations and the Energy Transition: A Critical Review on Discourses, Ideologies and Perspectives for Sustainable Geothermal Energy Development in Valemount, British ColumbiaGeothermal energy is predicted to be most beneficial to rural communities where costs will be minimal and energy use will be direct, contributing to environmental sustainability while addressing equality and access to resources issues in many underprivileged parts of the world. Accordingly, geothermal energy is envisioned to have high potential for delivering renewable energy resources and supporting marginal regions through much-needed community development. Given the challenges in realizing this potential, this paper critically reviews the power relations within the energy sector, looking at control over resources, the accumulation of wealth, and the potential for structural transformation to a model of resource development that supports marginal regions and achieves community development. Specifically, we focus on several key questions. If the main driver of new technology/ development projects remains profit, how likely is it that geothermal energy will be developed to benefit rural and
remote communities? What are the key challenges and mechanisms for supporting community development in this context? Adopting a critical discourse analysis approach, I examine relevant literature to identify dominant discourses that prevent sustainable energy development in rural communities. Through this research I seek to understand the cultural context of energy companies and their relationship to people and profit as well as social and environmental sustainability. This review is a preliminary stage of a participatory action research study on the potential for geothermal energy development in the Canadian Village of Valemount to incorporate sustainable, collaborative and inclusive resource development models. Furthermore, this study facilitates the development of a theory and concepts for understanding the sustainability of renewables and their projected impact on solving equity and equality issues worldwide. | Publication | 2020-02-18 | Nadine Suliman Abdelrahman |
| Calgary Lecture Series; Energy Panel: To provide continuing education opportunity in Calgary that showcases excellence and innovation at the University of Albertapanel discussion (1.2 hours long) with the public (audience ~ 300 people) at the Calgary public library. University of Alberta | Activity | 2019-05-22 | Steven Bergens, John R Parkins, Maggie Cascadden, Naeth, M. |
| Evaluation of three geothermal project SIA reportsAlthough renewable energy provides a more sustainable alternative to fossil fuels, not unlike conventional energy resources, technical uncertainties and public opposition remains a key aspect of project development. The aim of this paper is to investigate the emergence of larger-scale geothermal energy projects and the anticipated community impacts identified within environmental and social impact assessment (ESIA) reports; particularly the social aspects. Drawing on the academic literature, the study identifies an evaluation framework that involves key features, core values and key principles for SIA. Based on this framework we develop 8 detailed questions to facilitate a comprehensive analysis. These questions address factors including: stakeholders’ identification, local community needs and interests, community participation and engagement, cultural context, institutional set-up, capacity building and mitigation, evaluation and monitoring plans. This framework was then applied to three case studies of geothermal power plant projects from Ethiopia, Indonesia, and Kenya. The projects chosen were from different parts of the world as a way to identify differences in conducting social analyses, however, all reports showed similar methodologies regardless of the location. Through a comparative analysis of the social component of ESIA studies for these projects, overall findings suggest that ESIA reports are intended to fulfill regulatory requirements (standard operating procedures) but lack processes and insights that can enhance and fine-tune the mutual interests of project proponents and local stakeholders and community leaders. Overall, a transformation in ESIA study methodologies is required through collaborations between practitioners and researchers to ensure the effectiveness of ESIA as a tool for reconciling community and project values and goals. | Activity | 2019-04-29 | Nadine Suliman Abdelrahman |
| Powering Alberta’s Energy Future PanelSpeakers were invited to participate in a public panel discussion on powering Alberta's energy future as part of the Calgary Library Lecture Series. University of Alberta | Activity | 2019-05-22 | Naeth, M., Maggie Cascadden, Steven Bergens, John R Parkins |
| Risks and Rewards in developing geothermal resources in the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin – What we know and What we don’t know | Activity | 2024-02-22 | Nicholas B. Harris |
| Geothermal reservoir characterization of the South Swan Hills oil pool, Swan Hills, Alberta | Publication | 2022-12-30 | Christopher Noyahr |
| A new semi-analytical solution addressing varying heat transfer rates for U-shaped vertical borehole heat exchangers in multilayered ground. | Publication | 2023-07-01 | Yunting Guo, "G Huang", W V Liu |
| A numerical study on compositional modeling of two-phase fluid flow and heat transfer in vertical wells.Geothermal energy is a sustainable and renewable source that can be extracted by circulating a single- or two-phase fluid through a geothermal well system. Two-phase flow and heat transfer models are required for predicting pressure and temperature profiles in oil, gas, and geothermal wells. We model fluid flow, thermodynamics and heat transfer in an idealised vertical well for single-(i.e., water) and two-phase fluid mixtures (CO2-, and air-water) under a bubbly flow regime. First, we calibrated a Peng-Robinson Equation of State (PR-EOS) for CO2-, and air-water systems. Second, we solved continuity, energy and momentum equations and modelled transient conductive heat transfer through the well.. Third, we investigated the effects of mass flow rate, transient heat transfer, single- and two-phase fluid on the extracted power, temperature, and pressure profiles of the deep well bore heat exchanger. The results show that the temperature of the hot fluid decreases as it flows to the surface both in the case of adiabatic flow and in cases with heat loss. The mass flow rate controls the fluid temperature drop during its ascent to the surface (∆T of 11.2 °C and 87.8 °C at mass flow rates of 7 kg/s and 0.02 kg/s, respectively). The production pressure of a gas-liquid phase system is higher than that of a system with single liquid phase at the same injection pressure, temperature, and mass flow rate. Increasing mass flow rate up to a threshold value leads to an increase in the production pressure. Above the threshold mass flow rate (i.e., 7 kg/s in this study), the production pressure reduces because of the significant increase in the frictional pressure drop. Production temperature, production pressure, and total power increases over time due to the local heating around the production well and reduction of the heat loss. | Publication | 2021-05-12 | Sara Eghbali, Jonathan C. Banks, David S. Nobes |
| A reservoir model for geothermal energy production from the Middle Devonian Slave Point FormationReservoir model of the Clarke Lake geothermal play | Publication | 2021-05-07 | Evan Renaud, "John Weissenberger", Nicholas B. Harris, Jonathan C. Banks, "Brandon WIlson" |
| Considering buried depth for vertical borehole heat exchangers in a borehole field with groundwater flow—An extended solution University of Alberta | Publication | 2021-01-20 | Yunting Guo, "Xingchen Hu", Jonathan C. Banks, Liu, W. |
| Considering buried depth in the moving finite line source model for vertical borehole heat exchangers - a new solutionThis is a modeling paper that explores the effects of burial depth on the efficiency of shallow geothermal wells University of Alberta | Publication | 2020-03-23 | "Yunting Gao", Xincheng (Alex) Hu, Jonathan C. Banks, Liu, W. |
| Estimating parasitic loads related to brine production from a hot sedimentary aquifer geothermal project: a case study from the Clarke Lake gas field, British Columbia This is peer-reviewed publication on the pumping power require to produce 1 MWe of geothermal power at the Clarke Lake gas field in NE British Columbia. It is one part of a comprehensive look we are taking at this field. | Publication | 2020-02-05 | Jonathan C. Banks, Arif Rabbani, Evan Renaud |
| Geochemical changes associated with high-temperature thermal heat storage at intermediate depth: thermodynamic equilibrium models for the DeepStor site in the Upper Rhine Graben, GermanyGeochemical risk assessment for pilot storage system at the KIT in Germany | Publication | 2021-09-24 | Jonathan C. Banks, Spencer Poulette, "Jens Grimmer", "Frank Bauer", "Eva Schill" |
| Long-term Prediction on a Tube-and-annulus Geothermal Production Model via Abandoned Oil/gas Wells in Hinton, Alberta, CanadaThis is a paper detailing thermal production with a tube and annulus heat exchanger in a single deep borehole. University of Alberta | Publication | 2019-12-11 | Xincheng (Alex) Hu, Jonathan C. Banks, Liu, W. |
| Multivariate analysis of water chemistry in Devonian Strata of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin: Implications for geothermal energy development Applied GeochemistryOverview of geochemical risks associate with circulation of Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin fluids. | Publication | 2021-05-16 | Arif Rabbani, Jonathan C. Banks, "Jordan Brinsky", "Dan Palombi" |
| Numerical modeling of an enhanced geothermal system for geothermal energy production from abandoned wells, Applied Thermal Engineering.(paper was rejected) University of Alberta | Publication | 2021-05-16 | Xincheng (Alex) Hu, Jonathan C. Banks, Yunting Guo, Liu, W. |
| Retrofitting abandoned petroleum wells as doublet deep borehole heat exchangers for geothermal energy production—a numerical investigation Renewable EnergyExploring transient thermodynamic properties during the operation of a deep bore hole heat exchanger University of Alberta | Publication | 2021-05-27 | Xincheng (Alex) Hu, Jonathan C. Banks, Yunting Guo, Liu, W. |
| Roadmaps and Roadblocks for Energy Transformation: Converting Oil and Gas Wells to Geothermal Resources | Publication | 2021-12-17 | Kabir Nadkarni, Lianne Michelle Lefsrud, Jonathan C. Banks, Daniel Schiffner |
| The Intertwined Relationship between Power and Patriarchy: Examples from Resource Extractive IndustriesThis study examines the relationships between extractive industries, power and patriarchy, raising attention to the negative social and environmental impacts these relationships have had on communities globally. Wealth accumulation, gender and environment inequality have occurred for decades or more as a result of patriarchal structures, controlled by the few in power. The multiple indirect ways these concepts have evolved to function in modern day societies further complicates attempts to resolve them and transform the social and natural world towards a more sustainable model. Partly relying on queer ecology, this paper opens space for uncovering some hidden mechanisms of asserting power and patriarchal methods of domination in resource-extractive industries and impacted populations. I hypothesize that patriarchy and gender inequality have a substantial impact on power relations and control of resources, in particular within the energy industry. Based on examples from the literature used to illustrate these processes, patriarchy-imposed gender relations are embedded in communities with large resource extraction industries and have a substantial impact on power relations, especially relative to wealth accumulation. The paper ends with a call for researchers to consider these issues more deeply and conceptually in the development of case studies and empirical analysis. | Publication | 2019-04-17 | Nadine Suliman Abdelrahman |
| Utilizing geothermal energy from enhanced geothermal systems as a heat source for oil sands separation: A numerical evaluationWellbore and reservoir thermal power production models for the Ft. McMurray area University of Alberta | Publication | 2021-08-14 | Xincheng (Alex) Hu, Jonathan C. Banks, Yunting Guo, Liu, W. |
