The Green Review

Universities play a crucial role in achieving a sustainable future, especially through their research. In light of this, we are excited to highlight individuals and groups at UNB that have dedicated their time to pursuing sustainability-related research. Know someone who should be a Sustainability Research Champion? Let us know at sustain@unb.ca.

Our newest Sustainability Research Champion is Dr. Dave Keighley, the Assistant Dean of Science and a Professor from UNB Fredericton's Faculty of Science, Department of Earth Sciences.

Greener Energy Solutions for Eastern Canada

Overview of your research

This program currently focusses on provincial baseline studies to help determine the suitability of the subsurface for solving some of our energy issues.

Project 1: Storage of supercritical carbon dioxide

An initial baseline study, utilizing drilling records from across NB, was completed and published several years ago. Only one area, around the Bay of Fundy, was identified as having any possible potential for storing CO2 at sufficient depth, and only in a saline reservoir. With more acute climate issues now upon us, funding proposals have now been submitted for a more detailed assessment of the area to determine technological feasibility and environmental impact.

Project 2: Development of geothermal energy

The same drilling records were analyzed for viable borehole temperature data, and plots of averaged geothermal gradients were produced for the province. Thermal conductivity measurements were taken from archived cores of New Brunswick rocks, and more detailed geothermal gradients were calculated with consideration to different rock units encountered in the drillholes. Except for localized areas of enhanced heat flow near salt deposits, low geothermal gradients mean that improved technology will be a pre-requisite for economic development.

How does your work intersect with sustainability?

It will still take a few decades for oil and natural gas to be completely replaced by other affordable and clean energy sources (United Nations Sustainable Development Goal #7), but to sustain global temperatures below the projected climate tipping point, climate action (United Nations Sustainable Development Goal #13) will require CO2 emissions from oil and gas production to be reduced much sooner, such as by capturing and storing the CO2 wherever this can be achieved in an economic, and environmentally safe, manner.

Geothermal energy is an important part of the discussion on replacing oil and gas and hence energy sustainability. Economic, industrial-scale geothermal energy production generally requires elevated subsurface heat flow at shallow depths, meaning most geothermal development is currently restricted to the volcanically active regions of the world. As new technologies in the alternative energy space emerge, making lower subsurface temperatures continuously more viable for geothermal wells, attention will shift to other regions such as New Brunswick once its potential as a future candidate for industrial-scale low-heat geothermal energy generation can be determined.

What impact do you hope this research will have?

Energy sustainability is not an easy fix since every region of the world is different, both in terms of current energy sources, and what greener alternatives might be technologically, economically, and environmentally viable. Many different fixes can be proposed, but viability requires careful scientific collection and assessment of relevant data. The research aims to provide the baseline data and provide preliminary guidance as to what will, and will not, be sustainable energy solutions in New Brunswick.

Where can people find your work?

Keighley, D., and Maher, C., 2015. A preliminary assessment of carbon storage suitability in deep underground geological formations of New Brunswick. Special Series: Environmental Geosciences. Atlantic Geology, v. 51, pp. 269-286.

Deluca, J., and Keighley, D., 2022. Geothermal potential of New Brunswick: is there a salt chimney effect? GAC-MAC Conference (Halifax, Canada), Abstracts Volume, p. 85.