Episode 1: Dreaming of Abandoned Wells

By Keith Hirsche and Don Hill - Iron and Earth, February 1, 2023

Last November the infrastructure was completed on two pilot projects designed to show that abandoned well sites can be given a new purpose that provides renewable energy, opens the door to new business opportunities, and provides workforce training.

Abandoned well sites are scattered throughout oil rich Alberta - in fact 37% of all oil and gas wells in the province are considered abandoned by the Alberta Energy Regulator. Many of these wells cannot be reclaimed as productive agricultural land despite the best intentions of well owners or operators.

Those are the facts.

But it took a moment of inspiration for Keith Hirsche to pull together the idea and partners to make the RenuWell project a reality.

With funding through the Municipal Community Generation Challenge, and the Irrigation Canal Power Co-op, and partners including the Municipal District of Taber, RenuWell Energy Solutions Inc., and two prominent Canadian solar companies – Canadian Solar Inc. and SkyFire Energy Inc., the proof-of-concept infrastructure for the RenuWell dream was completed in November of 2022.

In our first episode of the Renewable Conversations with Iron & Earth podcast, freelance broadcaster Don Hill talks with Keith Hirsche about what led to the idea to put solar power generation on abandoned well sites and create the RenuWell project.

Disclaimer: The views expressed here are not the official position of the IWW (or even the IWW’s EUC) and do not necessarily represent the views of anyone but the author.