Acho Dene Koe looking at geothermal heat to warm homes, grow food

The Acho Dene Koe First Nation says it is exploring the possibility of using heat from the Earth to warm houses and a greenhouse in Fort Liard.

Megan Eyre, a project manager with the Barkley Group, which is consulting the First Nation, said the project is looking to employ geothermal energy for direct use.

This means the energy would not be converted to electricity, but would instead heat would be pulled from the Earth using a continuous loop of water and used to heat homes and other buildings.

She said this could work by circulating water underground that would bring heat to the surface. That heat would then be extracted from the water before it would be re-injected into the ground.

“No water is actually consumed, it’s just the heat that is consumed,” said Eyre.

She said the heat could then be transferred to a secondary fluid that could circulate to buildings in the community through pipes.

A geothermal power plant was previously explored in Fort Liard, but the project ultimately fell through in 2013 after Borealis GeoPower, a Calgary-based corporation that was working with the Acho Dene Koe First Nation, failed to reach a power purchasing agreement with the NWT Power Corporation.

In 2024, the federal government committed $2 million in funding to ADK Holdings Ltd, the corporate arm of the Acho Dene Koe First Nation, to develop a new geothermal project to reduce reliance on diesel power generation.

Drilling needed to determine potential

Eyre said that since 2023, those working on the project have been looking to identify rock formations under Fort Liard that could be heat reservoirs.

“We had defined what target formation we were looking for – which is the Mattson Formation – and then since then, we’ve done a more detailed dive into characterizing the reservoir, and we’ve also been looking at potential end uses that we could use the geothermal for,” said Eyre.

For the direct-use project, Eyre said, drilling would not have to go as deep into the Earth as the proposed power plant, making the project less expensive and risky.

From a geoscience perspective, Eyre said the reservoir near the community “has great potential to meet the needs of a variety of end uses in Fort Liard.”

However, she said that until drilling can begin, it’s unclear how much potential may actually be present.

“The reality of geoscience – and just the Earth – is unpredictable,” said Eyre.

“Everything that we’ve done has been based on data that we’ve been able to get from nearby old oil and gas wells and whatever data we could acquire, but the only thing you can really do next is to drill to properly prove out the reservoir.”

With a site near the community identified, Eyre said drilling could begin at the end of 2027 or in early 2028, though a few things such as funding and permits would need to be in place before that phase of the project could commence.

Secondary benefits

Eyre said the Acho Dene Koe First Nation, which owns and is leading the project, has been consulting with the community about possible end uses of the heat produced.

Residents have expressed interest in developing a community greenhouse and a possible small-scale poultry farm.

Jason Dorey, the manager of business and economic development with ADK Holdings, said the project presents an opportunity to improve food security “in a region where it’s hard to get fresh produce, and affordability is always always a question.”

He said during consultations there was such enthusiasm for these agricultural projects that while the assessment of the geothermal project is underway, the First Nation recently installed a hydroponic wall in its office.

Eyre said the food grown on the wall will be provided to the LFC Refuel restaurant, while a second wall to be installed at Echo Dene School will supply produce for the school’s food program.

Eyre said that an initial pilot greenhouse used for training will be built in the community later this summer, while a larger greenhouse that could one day be warmed by geothermal heat could be installed as soon as next year.

The sites for each greenhouse has yet to be chosen.

Dorey and Eyre said part of the project involves capacity and skill development within the community.

Many youth have been engaged throughout the process and a few have been hired to work on the project, Dorey said.

“There’s a lot of skills transfer,” said Dorey. “They’ve been going to conferences and building their knowledge on agriculture, greenhouse agriculture, community engagement.”

Eyre said that as part of the project, the First Nation is looking to bring driver training and testing to Fort Liard as well.

“It all just moves them closer to that employability stage so if we get the greenhouse up and running and we need produce to be moved around we have people that we can call upon that have like their driver’s license,” said Eyre.

Larger energy plan

The geothermal project is part of a larger community energy plan, Dorey said.

“The overall initiative and the want from the communities [is] to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions, provide secure and reliable energy and heating,” said Dorey.

Other components of the energy plan include exploring solar and wind energy production, as well as battery storage, Dorey said.

“We’re looking to fit it all into a larger solution – or improvement to the Fort Liard grid – and part of that’s going to definitely be working with Northwest Territories Power Corporation and the government to to make this happen.”