Alberta's abandoned oil wells could soon be transformed into sites for green energy production.

As the province's oil industry continues to slump there's been debate over whether government or corporations should pay for the clean up of so-called orphan wells.

The Living Energy Project pilot project is working to convert an abandoned oil well to one that captures geothermal energy. If it works, it could not only ease the debate over the well clean up, but also create jobs for out-of-work Albertans.

On Monday, MLA Shaye Anderson formally submitted a proposal to use an oil well in Leduc for the pilot.

“Alberta has nearly 170,000 abandoned oil wells. Converting them to geothermal energy helps oil companies’ bottom line, cuts down methane leakage, produces free energy and gets oil service firms back to work,” Mitchell Pomphrey, manager of the Living Energy Project, told Alberta Oil Magazine.

Abandoning a well can cost up to $300,000, according to Reuters. Converting it to geothermal and constructing a greenhouse above it costs less than half of that amount.