Northern Alberta Energy

In this part of the province, massive oil sands reserves – the third largest in the world – exist underneath the Boreal Forest. Though oil is the driving force of Alberta’s economy, many other energy resources are available in the northern region. Farming and forestry provides the materials for biomass energy production, long summer days allow for effective solar energy, and geological favourability combined with availability of drilling technology make geothermal energy a potential in the near future.

As a class, use this time to explore the resources listed below. This is your opportunity to learn more about energy projects in your region. We’ve curated a short list for you to explore, but feel free to expand your search to see what else is happening!  

In addition to the projects listed, we’ve asked energy experts to contribute their thoughts, listed under Regional Perspectives. These videos are intended to offer you an inside look into various organizations related to energy across Alberta.

As you explore, we invite you to consider the following questions to help focus your exploration and stimulate discussion among your class.

• What projects were new or surprising to your class?
• Which project is the most exciting to you? Why?
• Were there any terms you didn’t understand?
• What opportunities exist for energy in “region”
• What are the challenges of energy projects in “region”
• Do you know someone working in energy?
• How can you contribute to Alberta’s energy future?

If you come up with any big questions you know you’d like to ask our upcoming expert panel, please pre-submit them on Menti!

In the Boreal Forest, energy projects abound. While fossil fuels are the mainstay, new and upcoming developments exist. In Hinton, we see exploration of geothermal energy, heat harnessed from the earth. In Whitecourt, a local forestry company has taken wastewater treatment to the next level – producing biogas to generate power. Innovation doesn’t end there, venturing to the Canadian Shield we can explore the largest solar photovoltaic system in a remote Canadian community.

BIOGAS – MILLAR WESTERNSOLAR PV – THREE NATIONS ENERGYGEOTHERMAL – TOWN OF HINTON

There are many interesting stories and perspectives on energy in Alberta. We asked several energy experts to share their thoughts on the following questions:

Tell us about an exciting energy project you are working on.

How is your organization addressing climate change?

What sparked your interest in working in the energy sector?

What advice would you give young energy leaders?

Explore what they have to say!

Now that you’ve learned about some of the up and coming projects happening in your region, take some time to explore the rest of Alberta!

Edmonton & Area
Calgary & Area
Southern Alberta

Check out our Energy Resource page for more resources and information!