Alberta is at a crossroads. For decades, our province has been the engine of Canada’s energy economy, built on the hard work of local crews and a vast network of oil and gas infrastructure. But as the energy landscape shifts, Municipalities are facing a dual challenge: the rising cost of heating our community buildings and the growing liability of tens of thousands of out-of-service wells dotting our landscape.

What if the solution to one was buried right inside the other?

At Algar Geothermal, we believe our province’s greatest legacy can become its future. We don’t need to look for brand-new energy sources; we just need to look deeper into the ones we already have. By repurposing inactive oil and gas wells to harvest geothermal heat, we can provide a low-cost, eternally available energy source for our towns, schools, and greenhouses.

This isn’t about electricity generation; it’s about heat-only geothermal. It’s about turning a hazard into a productive asset and keeping our local crews working in the energy industry they know best. If you are a municipal leader or community stakeholder, here is our 5-step roadmap to launching a geothermal district heating system in your Municipalities.

1. Inventory & Assessment: Finding the Hidden Potential in Municipalities

The first step on our collective journey is a bit of detective work. Alberta is home to a massive inventory of out-of-service wells. Many of these are seen as “liabilities” on a balance sheet, but from a geothermal perspective, they are pre-drilled gateways to the earth’s natural warmth.

Mapping the Assets
We begin by identifying wells within a practical radius (typically 5–15 km) of your community’s “anchor loads”, the buildings that need the most heat. Think about your community arenas, schools, hospitals, and municipal offices.

Screening for Quality
Not every well is a candidate for geothermal repurposing. In this phase, we look for:

Structural Integrity: Ensuring the casing and cement are sound.
Depth and Temperature: Most successful projects target depths where bottom-hole temperatures are high enough to provide significant baseload heat.
Location: Proximity to existing roads and power makes the transition much more cost-effective.

By the end of this stage, our goal is a “spatial shortlist”, a map of potential wells that could realistically heat your community.

2. Feasibility Study: Proving the Heat Potential

Once we have a shortlist, it’s time to move from “could it work?” to “how well will it work?” A feasibility study is the bedrock of any successful energy transition. It’s where we match the technical potential of the subsurface with the actual heating needs of your town.

Technical and Economic Analysis
In this stage, we evaluate whether to use an “open-loop” system (circulating formation water) or a “closed-loop” system (using a sealed heat exchanger). We also calculate the Levelized Cost of Heat (LCOH). In many cases, geothermal heat could be significantly more stable than natural gas, protecting your municipal budget from the volatility of global fuel prices.

The Win-Win Scenario
We frame this not just as an environmental choice, but as a pragmatic economic necessity. Reducing fossil fuel dependence isn’t just about “net-zero”, it’s about long-term energy security for our residents and businesses.

3. Stakeholder Engagement: Getting the Community on Board

A district heating system isn’t just a piece of infrastructure; it’s a community partnership. For a project to succeed, we need to foster a sense of shared responsibility.

Building the “Implementation Highway”
To de-risk these projects, we need engagement at every level. This includes:

Local Residents: Explaining how geothermal heat can lower long-term costs and provide “nutritional value” by supporting local greenhouses.
Oil and Gas Industry: Working with well licensees to transition their liabilities into clean energy assets.
Provincial & Federal Government: We are actively targeting funding from Canada’s Federal Government and the Government of Alberta to help build the “Implementation Highway” that makes these pilots possible.

At Algar Geothermal, we believe in a “problem/solution” framing. We aren’t just building a heating system; we are creating meaningful work for local crews and helping businesses like those in the Alberta Greenhouse Growers Association stay competitive.

4. Pilot Implementation: The 2026 Milestone

We can’t jump straight to a province-wide network without proving the model first. That is why our primary goal at Algar Geothermal is to complete a pilot project in southern Alberta in 2026.

What a Pilot Looks Like
A pilot project involves re-entering a selected well, installing the necessary heat exchangers, and connecting it to a small cluster of buildings, perhaps a municipal shop or a local greenhouse.

Testing and Monitoring
During the pilot, we monitor everything: flow rates, temperature stability, and system efficiency. This data is crucial for convincing skeptics and securing the larger-scale funding needed for full integration. It’s important to note that while we are confident in the technology, these outcomes are currently “future-facing”, our 2026 pilot will be the first of its kind for our team.

5. Full-Scale Integration: A Self-Sustaining Future

The final step is scaling. Once the pilot proves successful, we can begin the “Implementation Highway” to full-scale district heating.

Expanding the Network
A single well might heat a community center, but a cluster of repurposed wells could provide heat for an entire subdivision or a massive agricultural park. Imagine a winter in Alberta where your home’s heat comes from a local well that was once considered a “hazard,” now transformed into a source of clean, sustainable comfort.

Economic Diversification
By integrating geothermal heat into our municipal planning, we attract new businesses. Greenhouses, for example, can operate year-round with low-cost geothermal baseload heat, providing fresh, local produce even in the middle of a prairie blizzard.

Why Now? The Results ofWGC 2026

The timing couldn’t be better. In June 2026, Calgary just hosted the World Geothermal Congress (WGC 2026). This was a global stage where the eyes of the energy world will be on Alberta.

We want to show the world that Alberta isn’t just an oil and gas province: we are an energy province.

Turning Hazards Into Assets

We often talk about the “environmental hazard” of inactive wells, but we prefer to see them as a gift from the past to the future. Our oil and gas crews have the subsurface expertise, the drilling skills, and the regional pride to lead this transition. We just need the collective will to move forward.

Are you ready to see what’s possible for your municipality?

Let’s turn these liabilities into legacies. We invite town councils, community leaders, and industry partners to connect with us. Together, we can build a warmer, more sustainable Alberta.

Follow us on LinkedIn for updates on our 2026 pilot project.
Connect with Blair Shunk and the Algar team to discuss the feasibility of geothermal heat in your community.
Join us at WGC 2026 in Calgary to be part of the global geothermal conversation.

The heat is already there. It’s time we brought it to the surface.