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An innovative entrepreneur in Springhill, Nova Scotia,
had to obtain state permission before using ground water
that had flooded an abandoned coal mine to heat industrial
buildings at low cost during winter. The mine water was
measured at 25 degrees C (77 degrees F), year round. Ground
water in porous rock at the bottom of exhausted natural gas
wells across Western Canada may hold enough low-grade
geothermal energy to actually heat insulated commercial
greenhouses during the cold, northern winters. It may be
possible for produce grown in winter in such greenhouses to
become price competitive against imported produce sold in
Canadian supermarkets.
Similar entrepreneurial opportunities may also exist in
Central and Eastern Canada, where deep abandoned mines or
deep caves could be used as geothermal heat sources for
greenhouses during winter. In a few rare locations in
Southern Quebec and in Atlantic Canada, a phenomenon called
"salt domes" could exist underground. Salt domes are usually
converted to store natural gas. They could also be converted
into giant geothermal energy storage reservoirs. A single
such reservoir could supply enough geothermal heat for over
a hundred giant greenhouses during winter.
At some locations,
heat from swamps or bogs(5) could partially sustain the
wintertime heating needs of greenhouses. Supplemental heat
and power from local co-generation power stations could
serve a battery of neighbouring commercial greenhouses. The
burning of Biomass at such power stations could also produce
ash containing fertilizer compounds that could be used in
greenhouse operations. Bringing such a venture to fruition
could more easily be achieved after provincial governments
cease their claim of ownership over geothermal energy.
However, provincial power policies may prevent new
wintertime produce growing ventures from even being started.
Their prohibition
on connecting private power lines across
private property lines, even those between greenhouses
producing food during winter, would achieve this end.
Canadians would be forced to pay more for imported produce
during winter, with a segment of them having to seek help
from food banks. An absence of such state economic
regulation over activities related to wintertime food
production, and the resources that could sustain them, could
go a long way as far as providing Canadians with access to
affordable produce during winter.
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