New IGA Board meets first time for the 2013-2016 term
New and old IGA Board, Bochum, Germany - Nov. 15, 2013 (source: Benedikt Steingrimsson)
Alexander Richter
17 Nov 2013
The old and new Board for the International Geothermal Association (IGA) met these days in Germany at the International Geothermal Center in Bochum, Germany. The board elected Juliet Newson of New Zealand as President of the Association, the first woman in this role.
The past two days I attended the Board Meetings of the International Geothermal Association (IGA) in Bochum, Germany. The International Geothermal Association (IGA) serves as an “association of Associations” serving as a coordinating body for the international geothermal community.
IGA was founded in 1988 and with approximately 5,000 individual and corporate members in 35 associations in 33 countries it is the largest representation of the global geothermal energy industry. Its aim, as defined in the Charter of the Association, is to encourage, facilitate and, when appropriate, promote coordination of activities related to worldwide research, development and application of geothermal resources.
The Board of Directors are elected by the membership and serve for a three year term. A new board was elected now earlier this year, and the Board Meetings, both of the old and new board, took now place in Bochum the past few days. The new board will be in its role for the term of 2013-2016. This provides continuation of activities also in regards with the upcoming World Geothermal Congress to take place in Australia and New Zealand in 2015.
Having been elected onto the board, I attended both days of the meetings. It is interesting and I feel honored being part of such a distinguished group of international geothermal experts and I am excited to play my role in three of the committees of the Association. The Board consists of 31 individuals from 19 countries. The Board voted Juliet Newson of Contact Energy in New Zealand as its president. The first woman in this role.
The Secretariat of the IGA is hosted at the International Geothermal Center in Bochum, Germany. It recently moved into a new building with great facilities. Part of that is a large research element with an own small drilling rig and ambitious plans. This is supported by the state government of North Rhein Westphalia (NRW) and partly by EU funding. Fantastic facilities that for sure will help not only geothermal in Germany, but also help in general research activities internationally.
At the same event, the IGA Academy was founded with the aim of promoting international education and training in the geothermal energy sector. The head office in Bochum coordinates training measures, which are conducted both at the location in Bochum, as well as at other international learning centers. In the long run, the Academy shall develop into a global network of partnering accredited, certified universities and research institutions with site-specific training courses. Courses of different lengths and intensity are envisaged to be given on the full spectrum along the geothermal energy systems value chain. For this technical facilities in Bochum and at other geothermal institutions elsewhere in the world are to be used. Certification is carried out by the IGA and the accredited partner institutions. The contents of training courses include the following topics, which are initially offered in 1-week or 2-week courses.
