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Southern Alberta Could Help Move Western Canada Away From Coal Dependency

Jan 29, 2016 | 9:21 AM

University of Lethbridge Professor and Climate Change researcher Jim Byrne believes Southern Alberta could play a major role in moving Western Canada away from its dependency on coal .

Byrne says opportunities with wind and solar energy make our region a mecca for renewable energy and suggests Alberta can work with other provinces as well.

“[We could] develop partnerships with British Columbia and Manitoba where there’s lots of hydro power and with that we can probably help meet grid news [in Western Canada] and get off coal.”

He adds more research could be done to discover how geothermal energy can be utilized alongside wind and solar.

“How does geothermal fit in with those other important renewable energy resources?”

It is a question Byrne posed at the Southern Alberta Council of Public Affairs (SACPA) meetin this week. 

Byrne says the true value of geothermal energy when considering renewable energy sources has yet to be determined.

Canada has no commercial geothermal power plants, despite some reports stating we have abundant potential and expertise.