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The energy industry gets a bad rap when it comes to innovation, yet the oilpatch is by far the largest spender on clean tech in Canada, to the tune of $1.4 billion a year. As part of its continuing coverage of the innovation economy, the Financial Post reports on the intersection of technology and energy, from the oilpatch in Alberta, off the shores of Nova Scotia to the plains of Saskatchewan.

In Calgary

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A rig crew in late November 2018 arrived on a patch of prairie near Torquay, Sask., in the heart of the province’s most active oilfield to drill the deepest well in provincial history at 3,530 metres.

But the crew wasn’t trying to hit oil or gas. They were targeting a hot sedimentary aquifer for steamy, briny water to be used for Canada’s first geothermal power project.

“I think they truly enjoyed the challenge of drilling for something very, very different,” said Kirsten Marcia, chief executive of Saskatoon-based Deep Earth Energy Production Corp., which is developing the power project.