BANFF – Tests will be done to determine if geothermal could work to heat Banff’s latest planned below market housing development, but councillors cautioned against impacting the timelines or affordability of the $40 million project to address the community’s housing crunch.
Town council has approved a $100,000 spend to complete ground source heating tests at 50 Wolf St., to be funded through the municipality’s environmental reserve, which has a current balance of about $1 million.
Mayor Corrie DiManno said this is a unique opportunity to test a geothermal system in modern times, adding it aligns with Banff’s environmental goals as well as ambitions to be municipal leaders in adopting best environmental practice.
“I will say, though, that I am hesitant as it relates to 50 Wolf St. if it’s going to impact timing or affordability, but we can cross that bridge when we get there,” she said.
The first step in this process is to drill test holes to evaluate the potential of ground source heating, also known as geoexchange or geothermal. Ground source heating systems take advantage of the fact that underground temperatures remain stable throughout the year below depths of two to three metres.
“When it’s minus 25 degrees Celsius in January, it’s 5 C about 50 feet down in the ground, so we can take advantage of that and move some of that heat up to the surface where we need it,” said Michael Hay, environment manager for the Town of Banff.
“I want to be clear when I am talking about geothermal here, I am not talking about the deep and hot geothermal that we hear about in Iceland and Idaho and California; those are big electricity generation projects.”
Hay said the project fits within council’s goals to reduce community emissions by 30 per cent by 2030 and community emissions by 80 per cent by 2050, as well as a target of 100 per cent renewable energy by 2050.
“These are ambitious goals and if we’re going to get anywhere close to achieving them we need to have ambitious projects,” he said.
“And those projects really focus on our buildings; 37 per cent of the community’s emissions come from buildings and all of that is tied to energy use.”
Municipal leadership in evaluating and providing incentives for renewable energy is considered essential when trying to encourage the public, institutional, commercial, and residential sectors to adopt greener measures.
Hay said construction of the community’s first large solar array at Town Hall in 2013 kicked off a decade of steady rooftop solar installations in Banff, supported by the municipality’s solar PV incentive program.
“Nobody had solar and all of sudden in 10 years thanks to leadership with solar arrays, plus our incentive program and technology developments, there’s over 70 solar arrays in the community right now – and it keeps growing,” he said.
“If you want to have a bit of a vision around geothermal, maybe that’s the vision to have in mind for 10 years from now.”
A test program at 50 Wolf St. would consist of a single vertical borehole drilled to a depth of up to 150 metres, with an evaluation of the well’s heating potential to immediately follow.
It would be completed as soon as Parks Canada approvals are in place, and ground conditions permit, likely in spring.
“If we get in the ground in April, we should have complete results by May or June. … We will be well into the design process by that time so we’ll need to have this concept in mind as we design that project and bear in mind that it could be something we might pursue,” Hay said.
“One thing I have been really clear about with the housing team is I have no interest in delaying that project or causing issues with that project for the sake of geothermal, but we think we have time to do the testing we need to do on site to verify whether it’s a good idea or not.”
Based on council direction in mid-October, administration is moving ahead with the first phase of the housing development, including design, which will likely incorporate 50 to 60 below market housing units – both ownership and rental – and 8,500 square feet of highly sought-after community space on the ground floor.
The Wim and Nancy Pauw Foundation has donated $5 million to go toward the ground floor community space, which could include purpose-built spaces like a community kitchen, a food centre, drop-in space for families and children, and more flexible, multi-purpose gathering areas.
Under the federal Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF) agreement, the Town of Banff needs to have development permits issued for 43 affordable housing units by end of January 2027. Construction of 50 Wolf St. is anticipated to start next fall with completion anticipated for winter 2027.
