A 130,000 sq. ft. (12,000 sq. meter) geothermal lagoon is under works in Charlevoix, Canada, around 45 minutes from Quebec City. The lagoon, if successfully built, will be the largest of its kind in the world, being quite a bit larger than Iceland’s 93,000 sq. ft. Blue Lagoon.
The project, titled geoLagon, is planned to be kept at a consistent temperature of 102°F (39°C) even as temperatures drop well below freezing. 150 solar-powered cottages and 150 chalets are set to surround the lagoon. Those cottages are currently available to be reserved, either for long term residency or to act as rental properties.
The company’s goal is to power the lagoon almost entirely with renewable energy. According to the geoLagon website, solar thermal, solar photovoltaic, and geothermal sources are set to heat the pools while biomass may be used as a backup in rare occasions. The triangular lagoons are set to be built upon the roof of a building located between hillsides, creating the illusion of an inground pool while reducing the environmental impact of the project.
“In a nutshell, the highly innovative geoLAGOON energy ecosystem will use stored heat from the lagoon to heat the surrounding cottages, and solar energy captured by the photovoltaic panels on the cottages to help heat the lagoon and tanks.” – geoLagon
On top of the arguably fairly environmentally friendly design that already exists with this project, a study carried out by Akonovia, an energy consulting company based out of Quebec, shows that the project could become an energy provider for surrounding areas, rather than just powering itself.
“There is a strong potential that the geoLagon project will produce more energy than it consumes, which brings the opportunity to provide surplus electricity to the surrounding community.” – geoLagon CEO and owner Louis Massicotte to New Atlas
Construction on the project is set to begin around March of 2023, beginning with the cottages and then moving on to the actual lagoon. You can certainly expect to see me in that lagoon at some point once it opens up, I can tell you that much.
Images via geoLagon