Registration open for 2023 Geothermal Collegiate Competition
First- and second-place teams from the 2022 Geothermal Collegiate Competition pose at their community engagement events. (source: NREL)
Carlo Cariaga
10 Aug 2023
Registration is now open for the U.S. Department of Energy 2023 Geothermal Collegiate Competition. Applications will be accepted until 4 October 2023.
Registration is officially open for the U.S. Department of Energy 2023 Geothermal Collegiate Competition. This competition invites teams from collegiate institutions to develop real-world geothermal solutions for communities while competing for USD10,000 in cash prizes and gaining resume experience in the renewable energy industry.
Links and instructions to register are available at the official event website. Interested teams may also participate in an informational webinar on 15 August 2023. Registration closes on 4 October 2023.
The Geothermal Collegiate Competition invites participation by teams of at least three students enrolled in accredited U.S.-based collegiate institutions or U.S. citizens enrolled at non-U.S.-based collegiate institutions. There is no cost to register or participate.
For this year’s competition, teams can submit proposals for either one of two tracks:
- For the Technical Track, teams will present a qualitative justification for deploying a geothermal district heating and cooling (GDHC) system in the proposed district (community or campus) and a conceptual design of a geothermal system based upon community needs, available resources, and prospective benefits to that community.
- For the Policy Track, teams will present a qualitative justification for deploying a GDHC system in the proposed district (community or campus), an analysis of the regulatory environment, and a financial incentives and economic assessment.
For both tracks, the Geothermal Collegiate Competition is designed for students to consider community-driven change as the fundamental requirement of any proposal.
Last year’s Geothermal Collegiate Competition was won by the Sooners Geothermal Team from the University of Oklahoma (OU). The winning project was for a system that allows abandoned oil and gas wells in Shawnee, Oklahoma to be repurposed to supply geothermal energy. The second-place win was secured by the Geothermal Vision team from the College of Engineering and Mines at the University of North Dakota (UND) and Reykjavik University.
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has published a short video with the important details of the competition as shown below:
Source: NREL
