What sets our industry apart from that of my two colleagues here is that we do not produce electricity. The competitiveness of the geothermal energy industry does not lie at the production level. The issue is more the substantial initial capital costs associated with the installation of a geothermal system. In this regard, the important difference between geothermal energy and other forms of renewable energy is the fact that we think about energy in terms of kilowatt-hours, cubic meters or litres of oil or gas. In our industry, we think more in terms of calorific power, that is joules or BTU value, because we do not produce kilowatt-hours that are sold to the grid.
To answer your question as to whether we can compete or how long it will take us to become competitive, I would answer that we are fully capable of competing at this point in time. The problems we have pertain to manpower training, the professionalization of the industry, the creation of an infrastructure to support growth and the development of policies to give geothermal energy a profile as a major player on Canada's energy industry landscape. I say this because despite substantial initial costs and substantial investments to install this kind of system, there are at present funding formulas in place that make installation possible. From the customer's standpoint, it's a totally beneficial and cost-effective option. To our way of thinking, we are competitive, hence the reason why grants are perfectly appropriate. However, until now, we have focussed on manpower training, a far more important consideration for us than grants or subsidies.