Introducing GeoBridge, a New Launch Point for Geothermal Information

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Final Up to date on: fifth February 2025, 03:02 am

A New Net Portal Developed by NREL and DOE Connects Extra Communities to Geothermal

If in case you have ever struggled to search out geothermal diploma applications, conferences, commerce associations, tax incentives, or different geothermal info, you aren’t alone.

“The geothermal industry has been around for decades and is a well-established community with long-standing events and relationships, but its traditions can sometimes make information hard to access from those outside the industry,” mentioned Jon Weers, knowledge scientist within the Nationwide Renewable Vitality Laboratory’s (NREL’s) Strategic Vitality Evaluation Middle. “Recent technological advancements have reinvigorated the geothermal industry, and interest in it is rapidly growing, so the need for easily accessible information is growing too.”

The U.S. Division of Vitality’s (DOE’s) Geothermal Technologies Office (GTO) and NREL partnered to deal with this problem and launched a brand new internet portal—GeoBridge—to attach individuals to geothermal communities, info, and alternatives.

“Many geothermal tools and resources are located behind paywalls, require memberships, or are otherwise difficult to find, especially for people looking to join the geothermal community,” Weers mentioned. “These barriers to access can prevent valuable geothermal information getting into the right hands and limit collaboration with communities new to geothermal. GeoBridge aims to remove this barrier by linking those communities to the tools and resources they need.”

GeoBridge supplies easy accessibility to info on a variety of geothermal matters, masking every thing from geothermal warmth pump (GHP) set up to careers in geothermal, academic instruments, and cost-saving alternatives for companies.

To create this new portal, NREL labored with DOE and an advisory board of geothermal consultants to determine the data gaps that make it tough for communities, householders, companies, college students, and others to find out about and get began in geothermal.

GeoBridge serves as a launch level, directing events to knowledge and instruments, occasions, academic assets, STEM applications, allowing and regulatory info, and different assets that can be utilized to know, consider, and uncover geothermal alternatives.

“GeoBridge fills an important gap by providing a single, publicly accessible, searchable portal that facilitates easy access to geothermal knowledge and information,” mentioned Elisabet Metcalfe, GTO’s exterior affairs lead. “It helps to expand and diversify the current pool of geothermal stakeholders, building a stronger geothermal community and providing opportunities for more Americans to learn about and benefit from geothermal energy.”

One instance of the necessity for GeoBridge arose shortly earlier than the positioning was launched. A historic preservation society reached out to NREL and GTO to be taught extra in regards to the potential for a closed-loop GHP to be put in in an previous movie show. The historic society’s electronic mail landed with the GeoBridge crew, who had already organized related info as a part of the content material improvement for the positioning. The GeoBridge crew was in a position to reply with detailed info on warmth pump sizing and pricing, related incentive and help applications, organizations and communities, and different instruments, databases, and providers.

“Before GeoBridge, questions like this would get sent to multiple people, each experts in their respective fields, but it could take days to compile relevant information. Now, the answers are in one place. More importantly, the information is now easily discoverable by both people and search engines, reducing the need to send an email in the first place,” Weers mentioned.

The present platform is simply the beginning. The crew plans so as to add technical steerage on superior geothermal matters for a wide range of stakeholders, assets on allowing and regulation, and hyperlinks to open-access instruments developed by the nationwide laboratories, DOE, and others within the geothermal market. GeoBridge can also be trying to the way forward for geothermal and plans to supply info on rising traits, expertise and useful resource wants, hurdles, funding alternatives, and extra.

“We want GeoBridge to be useful to people across industries and are always looking for feedback on the platform through our feedback form,” Weers mentioned. “Whether you are looking for a conference, hoping to install geothermal heating and cooling in your neighborhood, or applying for a master’s program in geothermal, we hope GeoBridge helps you achieve your goals.”

Study extra by visiting GeoBridge or testing the Webinar hosted by DOE and NREL. Please go away suggestions about how GeoBridge will be improved by filling out our brief questionnaire.

Initially printed on Nrel website.