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A Calgary-based oil and gas company operating in Swan Hills could be among the first in Canada to use geothermal heat as a source of power.

Razor Energy is working to capture heat from hot water reservoirs on its site to turn into electricity. The company has teamed up with the University of Alberta’s department of earth and atmospheric sciences to research this new method.

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Jonathan Banks, project lead with the university, said oilfield activity produces a lot of hot water by bringing geothermal energy to the surface through day-to-day operations.

“This has never been done anywhere at this scale,” Banks said. “This is a first of its kind in Canada for sure. Whether it will be the first geothermal installed power in Canada remains to be seen.”

Razor president Doug Bailey said if the company succeeds, the project will be economically viable and worthy of commercial investment.

“We’re very happy to see others getting into this industry, which we believe has a very strong and significant future but for us, we’re going to do right by our stakeholders,” he said. “If we don’t win the race, so to speak, so be it. It would be great if we were first but we’re not going to force that issue.”