Diversity, passion and commitment. Leadership, vision and dedication.
If that sounds like you, join us! Help shape the global geothermal agenda and join the Board of the IGA. Nominations for the IGA Board Term 2020 – 2023 are still open and will run till 16 April 2019. Get the guidelines, get nominated, and run for election.
We want you!
The IGA and its partners World Bank and IRENA with its Global Geothermal Alliance as key partners jointly organised an UNFC Geothermal Specifications workshop in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia between 5 and 7 February 2019. The workshop forms part of the UNFC pilot project in which the IGA and partners seek to deploy the UNFC geothermal project classification across the globe. For this we have worked intensively with the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, for whose support we are very grateful. In Ethiopia we were hosted by the Government of Ethiopia and the Ethiopian Geological Survey. A word of thanks goes to Geothermal Director Dr Solomon Kebede without whom this Workshop would not have taken place. We also express our gratitude to Dr Meseret Teklemariam representing the UNEP and the African Geothermal Centre of Excellence. She is our geothermal ambassador for the region and helped the team setting clear targets and expected outcomes.
The workshop was lead by Prof. Dr. Gioia Falcone, Mr Greg Usher, Mr Rob Hogarth and Mr Harmen Mijnlieff who dedicated their time, energy and passion for Geothermal in Addis Ababa.
We had the pleasure working with 23 participants coming from Ethiopian Geological Survey, Ethiopian Electric Power, Cluff Development Project, and local developers. We have seen 22 potential projects out there waiting to be classified and come to full bankability. In the mean time, the groups have focused on the Aluto project and the first classification results are expected later this month.
After returning we received the fantastic news that KenGen and Shandung Kerui Oilfield Service Group have secured a §76.8 million drilling contract for the 70MW Aluto-Langano project in Ethiopia. Ethiopia has the potential to become a geothermal giant and we are convinced that giant will be awake very soon.
On February 18 and 19 the IGA Team visited the United Downs Deep Geothermal Project in Red Ruth, Cornwall, UK. The UDDG project is led by Geothermal Energy Limited (GEL). The drilling contractor is a venture of Angers and Sohne and Marriot Drilling. The onsite operation team is led by Peter Ledingham (Managing Director), Lucy Cotton (Chief Geologist), Susy Doe (Communications Officer) and Jon Gutmanis (Operations Geologist).
The visit was organised by Prof. Iain Stewart, University of Plymouth, who kindly hosted the IGA Team first in Plymouth and then took us on site on Tuesday Feb 19th. The UDDG project aims to drill two deep wells into the heat-producing granites located at a permeable geological structure called the Porthtowan Fault Zone. One well will be producing the heat, the other well will be reinjecting the cooler water into the ground in order to be reheated. Expected bottom hole temperatures are to 190 oC and the targeted depth is 4,500m.
A few words about the funding…
GEL has secured funding of £10.6 million from the European Regional Development Fund to explore the geothermal resources underneath Cornwall. Cornwall Council contributed (£2.4 million) and private investors lend £5 million. The total sum secured the drilling of two deep wells to build a 1-3 MW pilot power plant to demonstrate the technical and commercial viability of supplying both electricity and heat.
Visual communication and social acceptance was not forgotten as well…
And then there was Ms Molecule. Ms Molecule – a great invention of the communication team to raise awareness of how the hot water turns to power and is used by communities to power up their homes and mobile phones has been proving worthwhile. School classes, local people, county representatives, they all love Ms Molecule and seem to engage more strongly to the project than ever imagined.
Our personal observation…
It is a team effort to get challenging projects like these going, and it takes strong individuals such as Peter Ledingham and his entire team to continuously strive to make these projects happen on the ground. Granite green energy: we all talk about it, and Cornwall is doing it! Thank you for having us, it was simply fantastic.
What else can we say, we simply #lovegranite
The Baltic Symposium featured 12 country presentations and a high level overview on the global geothermal state of play presented by the President of the International Geothermal Association – Alexander Richter. In particular, the GeoTherm conference taking place on 14-15 February highlighted the increased awareness of geothermal energy in Germany and Central Europe.
The IGA was present with a booth showcasing our new Insider Club and the initiatives we are setting up with our partners on technical standards such as well designs and the UNFC geothermal specifications that we have deployed in three countries, Indonesia, St Lucia and the Caribbean.
Over 1200 people attended the conference which featured 15 presentations and 200 exhibitors.
On the 7th and 8th of March 2019, the partners of the GSS-VET project came together for the 5th project meeting at the Technical University in the amazing city of Sofia, Bulgaria. The IGA has been represented by Gregor Rumberg.
The 15 project partner organizations from Bulgaria, Germany, Greece and Spain are well prepared for the final phases of this exciting project, which include international pilot workshops and the “training of the trainers”. An interactive learning platform is almost ready to launch soon and will be a helpful tool to support the education online.
The GSS-VET project combines and promotes Geothermal and Solar Skills in Vocational Education and Training. The training content is focused on technical skills, but also on transversal ones, including entrepreneurship, ICT, interdisciplinary skills and ability to work effectively with people from other disciplines.
40 trainers and 200 workers will directly be trained during the project’s lifetime, and thanks to the involvement of VET providers, sectorial organizations (including an EU umbrella), regional authorities and other associated partners, 2,500 workers will be trained by 2025.
Are you interested in a big opportunity and becoming a trainer or trainee? Please contact gregor@lovegeothermal.org for more information.
About GSS-VET: http://gss-vet.eu/
A position of a University Professor for the Chair of Geothermal Energy Systems is now offered at Technische Universität Berlin, Faculty of Planning Building Environment, Institute of Applied Geosciences together with the Helmholtz Centre Potsdam – GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences.
Deadline for application: 8 April 2019.
For more information, please download the Brochure (pdf, 0.9 MB).
The International Geothermal Association (IGA) – as the international representation of the global geothermal energy industry – continues its efforts of promoting geothermal energy and its activities to foster geothermal development worldwide.
The past few weeks have been particularly busy. Following the move of the IGA Secretariat and its operations to Bonn, IGA attended the annual General Assembly of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) in January 2019. There IGA highlighted the important role geothermal energy can play with regards to power generation, but even more importantly in the supply of a favorable and sustainable energy solution for heating and cooling, as well in the agri-food sector.
At the annual GeoTHERM expo & congress that concluded last week in Offenburg, Germany, the International Geothermal Association (IGA) shared an update on its operations and activities during a side event organized jointly by the International Energy Agency Geothermal Implementing Agreement and IGA. The presentation highlighted IGA’s recent activities on the introduction, promotion and training on the UNFC Geothermal Resource Specifications, including workshops held in Indonesia, St Lucia in the Caribbean and Ethiopia, as well as general activities aimed to foster geothermal development worldwide.
At the GeoTHERM congress, IGA’s President Alexander Richter gave a keynote presentation sharing a status report on geothermal development today and an outlook into the future.
Today, geothermal power is generated in 27 countries with a total installed geothermal power generation capacity of 14,600 MW at year-end 2018. With ongoing development and development ambitions the number of countries that could be producing geothermal power could increase to 82 countries.
There currently is ongoing and planned development of about 15,000 MW in power generation capacity, which would more than double the current installed capacity. Estimating development over the next 5 year period, IGA expects development of around 4,100 MW in capacity, picking up pace compared to the 4,341 MW added in the time period of 2008 to 2018. Key growth markets are Asia, Africa, Europe and North America.
It is clear that support mechanisms introduced by multilaterals, such as the World Bank, and development banks have been of help for projects getting over the big hurdles in the early stages of geothermal development, how sustainable that support is for further development will have to be seen.
So the timing of IGA’s World Geothermal Congress 2020 taking place from 27 April to 1 May 2020 in Reykjavik, Iceland, is perfect to engage the global geothermal energy community to discuss challenges and opportunities, while also highlighting what has been achieved.
To help set the global agenda, the IGA has opened the Expression of Interest (EoI) for hosting the World Geothermal Congress in 2023. More information can be found on our website where the EoI can be downloaded. Deadline for submitting the EoI is April 30, 2019.
IGA now also seeks nominations for its Board positions. Affiliated and individual members are kindly invited to forward their nominations for Board term 2020- 2023. The deadline for receiving nominated candidates is April 16, 2019.
IGA website: www.lovegeothermal.org
Website of the World Geothermal Congress 2020: www.wgc2020.com
Social Media handles: @lovegeothermal
Media Contact:
Dr. Marit Brommer, Executive Director
E-mail: marit@lovegeothermal.org
Mobile: +49 (0) 151 5984 3284
Dr. Andrew Sabin is the new President of the GRC
Davis, California, USA. The Geothermal Resources Council (GRC) has welcomed Dr. Andrew Sabin as the 27th President of the global geothermal energy organization, succeeding Maria Richards. Dr. Andrew Sabin works with the Navy Geothermal Program Office in Ridgecrest, California. Andy’s career has spanned more than 30 years and has included ore deposits, geotechnical, environmental and geothermal work. He earned degrees in geology from the University of Maryland, the University of Pittsburgh and the Colorado School of Mines. Like many of his colleagues in the geothermal energy community, Andy has been a long-time member and supporter of the GRC. He also currently serves on the Board of Directors for the International Geothermal Association (IGA). According to Dr. Sabin, “If someone is fortunate enough to be employed in this industry for any amount of time, participating in and then giving back to the GRC should be an expectation. I’d encourage all leaders in this industry to motivate their peers and their employees to join and then actively participate in the GRC. The costs and the time spent each year are nominal. The potential benefits to their careers and to our industry are immeasurable.”
About the Geothermal Resources Council: The Geothermal Resources Council (GRC) will be celebrating 50 years of service to the global geothermal energy community in 2022. The GRC is dedicated to advancing geothermal development around the world through education, research, and outreach. For more information, please visit www.geothermal.org.
The International Geothermal Association (IGA) seeks Expressions of Interest (EOI) from member organisations who would like to host the World Geothermal Congress (WGC) in the year 2023.
Please download the Invitation for further Information: EOI-WGC2023 (pdf, 2,5 MB)
[Update 01.04.2019] Please send your Invitee’s Response until 30 April 2019, 0:00 CET per E-Mail to: wgc2023@lovegeothermal.org.
After five successful Application Rounds of the Geothermal Risk Mitigation Facility (GRMF) with 30 awarded projects, the Regional Geothermal Coordination Unit (RGCU) of the African Union Commission (AUC) would like to gather key facts of planned geothermal projects in Eastern Africa, in order to assess the market potential for a sixth Application Round.
The RGCU is looking for:
The project activities can be:
in one of the eleven eligible GRMF countries (Burundi, Comoros, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia).
Please fill the survey form until 6 March 2019 on the following link: http://185.48.158.31/limesurvey/index.php/477568?lang=en
Feel free to contact the GRMF team via the website www.grmf-eastafrica.org. The survey will take approx. 10 minutes (depending on your internet connectivity).
If the assessment for a sixth Application Round is positive, it will be announced on the GRMF website, and other channels. Furthermore, all stakeholders (including participants of this survey) as well as relevant media will be informed accordingly.
Note: All data as submitted by the participants will be kept confidential by the GRMF.
