The world’s largest geothermal lagoon to be built in Canada

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It will be powered by a mix of photovoltaic, biomass, and geothermal energies, with solar heating chipping in too.

The world's largest geothermal lagoon is planned at Charlevoix, a 45-minute drive from Quebec City in Canada. The open-air lagoon will feature a patent-pending heating system that will keep the waters warm at 102oFahrenheit (39o Celsius) even during the winters when temperatures drop below 32oFahrenheit (OoC), New Atlas reported.

The project, dubbed geoLagoon is modeled on the geothermal lagoons in Iceland that are globally popular, and its owner and CEO, Louis Massicotte's vision includes four such lagoons to be built in Canada alone.

The water body at the lagoon scheduled to come up at Charlevoix will span over 130,000 sq. feet (12,000 square meters). Around the lagoon, hundreds of chalets will be built to make a village that will blend in with the natural surroundings.

These cottages will be available for sale and could be used to reside at the lagoon or rented out to visitors for vacations. Other than the lagoon's water, the site's visitors will also have access to art galleries, ski-resorts, golf facilities, dining, and whale-watching experiences.

The chalets will feature photovoltaic cladding that will capture solar energy to help run the heat pumps. Underneath the base of the lagoon will sit a giant thermal reservoir powered by an energy ecosystem consisting of geothermal, biomass, photovoltaics as well as solar heating systems, the patent for which is currently pending.

What about its energy consumption?

A viability study carried out by a sustainability energy firm in Canada has confirmed that the project can meet its energy requirements using renewable sources as planned. Massicotte is also keen on deploying further optimizations such as sewer heat recovery technologies that could see the village become an energy provider to the grid in the future.

"There is a strong potential that the geoLagon project will produce more energy than it consumes, which brings the opportunity to provide surplus electricity to the surrounding community,” Massicotte told New Atlas. For now, the lagoon and the surrounding village will be able to cover its energy demands without drawing power from the grid.

The project's construction is planned in three phases. The first is where 150 solar-powered chalets will be built at the site. Following this, the construction of the geothermal lagoon will begin, and the construction of the remaining 300 chalets will be taken up in the third phase.

Inspired by the Blue Lagoon in Iceland, the geolagoon takes the concept to the next level. Once completed, the geoLagoon will dwarf the Icelandic lagoon that covers an area of 93,000 sq. feet (8,700 sq m).

After Charlevoix, geoLagoon has plans for three more such lagoons at Laurentides, Lanaudière and the Eastern Townships. Construction at the First site is expected to begin in March 2023 and is expected to take 18 months.

 

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