GAOI is teaming up with Iowa Geothermal Association to lead and carry out an on-line geothermal training series. "Getting the Dirt on Geothermal", will begin in September and members of each organization will have access to the sessions at no cost. The sessions will be recorded and available on the GAOI website.  

GAOI and IGA are currently seeking sponsorships for the series. Watch for more information on this at GAOI.org

Brian Urlaub, Director Geothermal Operations for Salas O’Brien, will present the University of Illinois Extension program at 10 am on July 6. To register, go to web.extension.illinois.edu/registration.

Geothermal energy systems allow community- and district-scale energy plants and facilities, multi-building developments, and campuses to attain higher energy efficiencies, better energy cost savings, and lower carbon emissions. Join us for a community/district geothermal presentation that will focus on key elements of designing and constructing interconnected ambient geothermal energy systems for a range of applications. Key drivers that affect their design and implementation will be discussed, as well as different options that help make these geothermal systems more flexible, resilient, efficient, and cost effective.

The webinar will cover aspects and features of geothermal energy systems, and how to use city right of ways for installing geothermal infrastructure. This learning opportunity is ideal for professionals working in state, county and city governments, sustainable development, infrastructure planning managers, utilities, clean energy workforce, and community development. After the presentation, participants will have the opportunity to ask about specifications and guidance in getting their projects started.

Event sponsors include the GAOI, IGSHPA, The GeoExchange Organization and the IL Geothermal Coalition, among others.

There’s a great event coming up August 10, 2022, the “Illinois Electrification Leadership Summit”, in Springfield.  The geothermal heat pump industry will get a lot of attention at this event.  This event should be a great opportunity for our industry to network with key stakeholders such as electric utilities, local governments, and others who can help grow the geothermal heat pump industry.

The “Illinois Electrification Leadership Summit” is presented by the Beneficial Electrification League and co-hosted by the Association of Illinois Electric Cooperatives, Hoosier Energy and the Wabash Valley Power Alliance. They have offered GAOI members a $100 discount making it a very affordable net $150 to attend. Please use discount code Spon2022 when registering!  

Electric co-op rebates and programs are a key part of our success—and something we hope to expand by building our relationships with the co-op industry. 

There are also new business opportunities that will be highlighted at this event, particularly in funding coming from the federal government that could help schools upgrade to geothermal heating and cooling along with other funding coming to cities that could be used to upgrade government buildings. This may be of interest to the commercial side of the business, but there could be ways to leverage the new funding that is coming to cities to boost residential installations as well.