GR Networking/Overview Day June 5th
Geothermal IS rising! This event began by collaborating within the geothermal industry; this way we ensure unified messaging when engaging with policy makers. It was acknowledged that while outreach to policy makers was the goal of the event, public outreach is also crucial for the success of a project. Specific asks of policy makers were about permitting, transmission, and funding.
Geothermal energy is baseload, always on, continuous energy. There are a variety of applications of heat transfer, using heat from the earth. These methods build upon existing knowledge in various industries from oil & gas to plumbing. This is an industry for everyone, geothermal energy is reliable and clean energy.
While we know that geothermal energy has been proven to work, it takes years to get a permit for a geothermal project. Additionally, transmission lines to dispatch energy from these geothermal plants also take years to permit. With the help of policy on state and federal level, geothermal projects can be prioritized. There are some funding opportunities with the office of clean energy demonstrations (OCED) to fund renewable energy, but geothermal is not included. Geothermal energy needs to be prioritized to meet ambitious climate goals.
Meetings on the Hill Day June 6th
Since I am a cheese head, I had to stop in at Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson and plug geothermal. While WI is not an “energy” state, anyone can utilize direct heat transfer geothermal transfer. However, I came to promote enhanced geothermal energy and conventional traditional geothermal energy, the types of geothermal that rely on fractures in the earth for industrial heat transfer utilized for electricity generation.
I had the opportunity to meet with staff of Senator Mark Mullin of Oklahoma and Senator Diane Finestien of California, and staff from representative Randy Weber of Texas. Additionally, I got to meet representative John Carter of Texas himself! While folks knew about geothermal energy, not everyone was aware of the challenges geothermal faces, specifically with permitting.
Find out more about our Enhanced Geothermal Offering MicroThermal Energy on our solution page.
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