Widespread deployment of geothermal energy can provide more resilient and reliable electrical infrastructure for all Americans and ultimately drive down overall energy costs. A key piece of deploying geothermal technologies broadly is growth in the geothermal workforce. The Geothermal Technologies Office's (GTO) Geothermal Collegiate Competition (GCC) serves as an important part of this, creating an engaging pathway for students to explore geothermal careers. The competition provides students the opportunity to solve real-world problems and teaches the critical need of interacting directly with communities.
The GCC challenges teams of students from any major, minor, or career path to develop real-world geothermal solutions in two competition tracks: technical and policy. Each team chooses a community to collaborate with and discuss needs and desired outcomes from a geothermal heating and cooling project. The students then get to work designing geothermal systems or analyzing the feasibility for a proposed system, depending on their track. First-place teams receive prize money, as well as funding to host an engagement event to discuss their proposed projects with the local residents of their partnered community.
A team from The University of Oklahoma (OU) took first place in the 2023 technical track for their proposed geothermal heating and cooling system to maintain growing temperatures year-round in the Osage Nation's 40,000-square-foot greenhouse in Pawhuska, Oklahoma, supporting efforts for food sovereignty. In May 2024, the students held a stakeholder engagement event
where they shared details of their project and fielded questions and comments from the Tribal community. "The most important aspect was listening to the Tribal community's past experiences, concerns, and advice," said Jose Aramendiz, a team member and Ph.D. candidate at OU. "Learning from them and integrating their beliefs into our concept was key for our group to understand how we could collaborate respectfully."
In the 2023 policy track, the first-place team from Columbia and Princeton Universities partnered with a community
in the subarctic Native Village of Elim, Alaska, to help the community consider alternative options to traditional fuel dependency. The team analyzed a proposed ocean-based closed-loop geothermal heating and cooling system for the 330-person town, finding that costs could be fully recuperated in as little as 14 years. The system would honor the Iñupiat value of living from the land, while significantly reducing the amount of fuel oil and wood used by the community. After the competition, the community was so inspired by the partnership and the team's findings that they are actively pursuing options to implement renewable solutions.
The GCC is a prime example of a growing workforce's meaningful community partnerships shaping tomorrow. GCC students gain real-world knowledge and experience in geothermal while communities come to understand which geothermal solutions make sense for them a winning combination for the nation's clean energy future.
Want to get involved? Registration for the 2024 Geothermal Collegiate Competition is open through October 7! Follow the challenge on HeroX to register and read the official rules.
For more information
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