Canada builds the world's largest geothermal lagoon

The world's largest geothermal lagoon is expected to be located in Charlevoix, a 45-minute drive from Quebec, and maintain a water temperature of 39 degrees Celsius year-round.

Design drawing of the geoLagoon lagoon. Photo: geoLagoon

The open-air lagoon will include a patent-pending heating system that will keep the water warm at 39 degrees Celsius even in winter, when temperatures drop below zero, Interesting Engineering reported on September 22. The project called geoLagoon simulates a lagoon in Iceland. The project's owner, Louis Massicotte, CEO of geoLagoon company, hopes to build four such lagoons in Canada alone.

The lagoon in Charlevoix will cover an area of ​​12,000 square meters. Around the lagoon, hundreds of wooden houses will be built to create a village that matches the surrounding natural landscape. The houses will install photovoltaic cells to help collect solar energy to run heat pumps. At the bottom of the lagoon is a huge thermal reservoir that exists thanks to an energy ecosystem including geothermal, biomass, photovoltaic batteries, heating systems.

The construction process of the project is divided into 3 phases. In the first phase, 150 wooden houses using solar energy will be built. After that, workers will start building a geothermal lagoon. Eventually, the remaining 300 bungalows will be born. Inspired by the 8,700 m2 Blue Lagoon in Iceland, once completed, the geoLagoon's lagoon will have a much larger area.

After Charlevoix, geoLagoon has planned to build 3 more lagoons in Laurentides, Lanaudière and Eastern Townships. Construction at the first site is expected to begin in March 2023 and last for 18 months.

A feasibility study by a Canadian sustainable energy company confirms the project can meet energy needs using renewable sources. Massicotte also wants to apply optimization technology such as waste heat recovery system.

"It is likely that the geoLagon project will produce more electricity than it consumes, allowing surplus electricity to be supplied to the surrounding community. The lagoon and the surrounding village can meet its own electricity needs without drawing electricity. from the grid," Massicotte said.