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Mitigating climate change requires elimination of fossil fuel related greenhouse gas emissions. Transitioning electricity generation to low-carbon sources and substituting fossil fuels with electricity in non-electric sectors is considered to be a key strategy. This dissertation investigates resource options to and land area impacts of decarbonizing electricity generation and electrifying adjacent sectors. Three studies analyze transition options in the western Canadian provinces of Alberta and British Columbia. The first study investigates technology transition pathways and land area impacts of reducing electricity generation related carbon emissions in fossil fuel-dominated Alberta. A final 70% share of wind, solar, and hydro power reduces emissions by 90% between 2015 and 2060. This scenario requires designating 5% additional land area to electricity generation annually. Land is largely designated to the required space between wind turbines, with smaller areas attributed to ground-mounted solar and hydro power. System planners can reduce the land area impacts by deploying more compact geothermal, rooftop solar and natural gas with carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) technologies. These technology compositions can hold land area impacts constant in time if depleted natural gas and CCS infrastructure is expediently reclaimed, but total net present system costs increase by 11% over the 45-year period. Without reclamation, fuel extraction and carbon sequestration increase land area impacts at least fourfold within this time period. The second study investigates sedimentary basin geothermal resources in northeastern British Columbia. Geothermal energy is a potentially low-cost, low-carbon, dispatchable resource for electricity generation with a relatively small land area impact. A two-step method first geospatially overlays economic and geological criteria to highlight areas favourable to geothermal development. Next, the Volume Method applies petroleum exploration and production data in Monte Carlo probability simulations to estimate electricity generation potential at the four areas with highest favourability (Clarke Lake, Jedney, Horn River, and Prophet River). The total power generation potential of all four areas is determined to be 107 MW. Volume normalized reservoir potentials range from 1.8 xvi Dedication I dedicate this dissertation to my parents, Richard and Dagmar Palmer-Wilson, and to my grandparents, Gerhard and Ilka Radke. The weight of this work calmly rests on their unending love, support, patience and wisdom. "Wenn die Kinder jung sind, gib ihnen tiefe Wurzeln. Danach gib ihnen Flügel." Table 1-1 Attribution of contributions to chapters 3 to 5 Contributor Contributions Ch.

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