Webinar – Unearthing potential: The future of US geothermal – Dec. 1, 2020

The Atlantic Council Global Energy Center, a Washington, DC, U.S.-based think tank is inviting to a webinar on Tuesday, December 1, at 10 AM EST for an informative public discussion with US and Icelandic experts on the future of geothermal energy in the United States.

While intermittent solar and wind have expanded rapidly across the United States, vast baseload geothermal resources remain almost entirely untapped, with less than 1 percent of total US geothermal electricity potential estimated to have been exploited. Geothermal heat is a reliable and cost-effective form of baseload energy and an energy-efficient option for district heating and cooling, not to mention a potential power source for various industrial processes. And with strong government and private sector support, in addition to technological advancement, geothermal energy could scale up and expand beyond the Western United States and across the country to the nation’s economic and environmental benefit. Policy advancement for US geothermal energy would serve as a catalyst for clean tech innovation and climate action, and provide emissions reductions, cleaner air, energy security, job creation, new market growth, and bipartisan opportunities for renewable energy development.

This event will highlight lessons learned from Iceland, the world’s geothermal industry leader, and will focus on the current potential for US geothermal development; the challenges to geothermal growth and scale; as well as the role of fossil energy companies, Enhanced Geothermal Systems technologies, and government policy in geothermal development. And on the heels of the US election, panelists will explore how the Biden-Harris Administration and Congress can support geothermal growth as part of coronavirus recovery and the energy transition.

You will be able to join this conversation via the web application Zoom, which is accessible through your web browser, the Zoom desktop or mobile app, and by phone. Please register below to receive the Zoom access information for this event.

US and Icelandic experts discuss the future of geothermal energy in the United States and the policy mechanisms and technologies that could facilitate geothermal development across the country.

Keynote remarks by H.E. Thórdís Kolbrún R. Gylfadóttir,  Minister of Tourism, Innovation, and Industries
Government of Iceland

A conversation with

• H.E. Thórdís Kolbrún R. Gylfadóttir, Minister of Tourism, Innovation, and Industries
  Government of Iceland
• The Hon. Daniel R Simmons, Assistant Secretary, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
  US Department of Energy
• Alexander Richter, Managing Director – Iceland Renewable Energy Cluster; Iceland Geothermal
• Ann Robertson-Tait, President – GeothermEx
• Katherine Young, Laboratory Program Manager, I-Geoscience, National Renewable Energy Laboratory

Moderated by Ragnheiður Elín Árnadóttir, Former Icelandic Minister of Industry & Commerce
Nonresident Senior Fellow, Atlantic Council Global Energy Center

Source: Atlantic Council