Apply for Summer 2012 National Geothermal Academy (February 15)
EERE Accepting Geothermal Applications for Postdoctoral Research Award (May 1)
Geothermal Funding Available through USDA REAP Program (various due dates)
GRC Announces Outstanding Technical Session Presentations from 2011 Annual Meeting
Are You Developing a Geothermal Project? Contact GEA for Inclusion in the 2012 US Geothermal Power Production and Development Report
Comments Invited on Sage Grouse EIS (February 7)
Comments Invited on Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest Draft EIS for Geothermal Leasing
GRC Call for 2012 Annual Meeting Papers (April 27)
Project Abysse Seeks Support to Build Remote-Controlled, Mine-Shaft Submarine for Geothermal Implementation
Is Your Company Interested in Providing a Geothermal Internship?
The National Geothermal Academy is proud to present an intensive summer course in all aspects of geothermal energy development and utilization, held at the University of Nevada, Reno campus. The eight-week course is offered for either undergraduate or graduate credit (June 18-August 10). Two three-week sections, Geothermal Geoscience and Geothermal Engineering, are also available for graduate credit. Individual weeks are offered for professional development. The academy is intended for juniors and seniors, and post-baccalaureate students in scientific and engineering programs. Strong undergraduate preparation in quantitative fields is expected. For information about course content, dates, and to download the application, please visit http://www.unr.edu/geothermal/NGA.htm. Applications are due February 15, 2012.
The Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) Postdoctoral Research Awards support EERE's mission in energy efficiency and renewable energy by offering recent Ph.D. recipients the opportunity to conduct applied research at universities, national laboratories, and other research facilities. The objective of the EERE Postdoctoral Research Awards is to create the next generation of scientific leaders in energy efficiency and renewable energy by attracting the best scientists and engineers to pursue breakthrough technologies in a highly prestigious postdoctoral research program.
Research opportunities will be awarded to qualified applicants to work on collaborative applied research of mutual interest to the applicant, the host facility, and the EERE Program sponsoring the award. The award will provide an annual stipend, allowances for health insurance and research-related expenses, and limited reimbursement for relocation expenses. An Annual Research Meeting for participants is organized and hosted by EERE.
The EERE Postdoctoral Research Awards are administered by the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) in collaboration with EERE. ORISE is responsible for the implementation of the program, processing applications, the review and notification processes, and management of payments to participants. Visit: www.eere.energy.gov/education/postdoctoral. See also the Geothermal Technologies Program: www.eere.energy.gov/geothermal
From the official release -- USDA is seeking applications to provide assistance to agricultural producers and rural small businesses to complete a variety of energy efficiency and renewable energy projects, including geothermal. Funding is available from USDA's Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) authorized by the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (Farm Bill). For 2012, USDA has approximately $25.4 million budget authority available to fund REAP activities, which will support at least $12.5 million in grant and approximately $48.5 million in guaranteed loan program level awards. USDA is accepting the following applications:
- renewable energy system and energy efficiency improvement grant applications and combination grant and guaranteed loan applications until March 30, 2012;
- renewable energy system and energy efficiency improvement guaranteed loan only applications on a continuous basis up to June 29, 2012;
- renewable energy system feasibility study applications through March 30, 2012; and
- energy audits and renewable energy development assistance applications through February 21, 2012.
More information on how to apply for funding is available in the January 20, 2012 Federal Register, pages 2948 through 2954. Further information on rural programs is available at a local USDA Rural Development office or by visiting USDA Rural Development's web site at http://www.rurdev.usda.gov.
The Geothermal Resources Council (GRC) has announced the outstanding presentations from the global geothermal community, taken from each of the technical sessions at last October’s GRC 2011 Annual Meeting in San Diego. The GRC has made visual aids from over 230 technical presentations available on its Web site at geothermal.org, and the 53 outstanding presentations are featured at www.geothermal.org/powerpoint11_best.html. The GRC Annual Meetings were held in tandem with GEA’s Geothermal Energy Expo.
GEA is preparing to gather information for its 2012 US Geothermal Power Production and Development Report. If your company or organization is involved in developing a geothermal project, and you would like to submit information on that project for inclusion in the 2012 report, or if you have questions about the report, please contact Dan Jennejohn at danj@geo-energy.org or at 202.454.5261.
If a project your company is developing was included in the last industry report (April 2011), GEA still asks for confirmation from the developer regarding the current status of the project for the 2012 report. A copy of the 2011 industry report can be accessed through GEA’s Web site.
The Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service are addressing ongoing threats to the greater sage-grouse and its habitat throughout the West through a Notice of Intent for the Sage Grouse EIS, published in the Federal Register December 9. Greater sage-grouse currently use around 47 million acres of land managed by the BLM and around nine million acres of land managed by the USFS. About 98 BLM Resource Management Plans address greater sage-grouse, while the USFS expects to evaluate conservation measures into as many as nine Land and Resource Management Plans considered high priority for the conservation of sage-grouse.
The BLM and the U.S. Forest Service are seeking comment on issues that should be addressed in evaluating greater sage-grouse conservation measures in land use plans in 10 Western states. Comments for the Eastern Region may be sent to sageeast@blm.gov. Comments for the Western Region may be sent to sagewest@blm.gov. General questions about the planning strategy should be directed to SageQuery@blm.gov. The Bureau of Land Management will be holding scoping meetings in western states in January. See:
http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/prog/more/sagegrouse/western.html. Comments are due February 7, though they will be accepted until the 15th.
To get on an email list for notices/newsletters send a request with your contact information to sagewest@blm.gov. Questions: sagequery@blm.gov. To follow the process on the Web site, go to www.BLM.gov / “News and Information” (on right side) / “Federal Agencies Announce Initial Step to Incorporate Greater Sage-Grouse Conservation Measures into Land Management Plans” / Under “Public Meetings,” click “Western.”
Posted on or around December 19 -- Under the recently completed Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest Draft Environment Impact Statement (DEIS) for Geothermal Leasing, the Forest Service would consent to lease up to approximately 615,230 acres of National Forest System land that are administratively available for geothermal leasing. The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) provides for a 45-day public comment period for a DEIS. Comments on the DEIS should be specific and address the adequacy of the document and the merits of the alternatives discussed (40 CFR 1503.3). The decision for this project will be subject to the appeal process pursuant to Forest Service regulations at 36 CFR 215. Only those who provide comment on the DEIS during the comment period may participate in the 215 appeal process.
Mailed, facsimile, hand-delivered, oral, and electronic comments on this action will be accepted for 45 calendar days following the publication in the Federal Register of a Notice of Availability for the project DEIS. The publication date in the Federal Register is the exclusive means for calculating the comment period for this DEIS. Those wishing to comment should not rely upon dates or timeframe information provided by any other source.
Mailed comments should be submitted to Keith Whaley, Project Coordinator, HC 62 Box 1000, Bridgeport, CA 93517. Alternatively, comments may be submitted by facsimile at (760) 932-5899.
Oral or hand-delivered comments can also be provided at several district offices during normal business hours via telephone or in person. Electronic comments must be submitted in a format such as an email message, plain text (.txt), Portable Document Format (.pdf), rich text format (.rtf), or Word (.doc or .docx) , and be sent to:
comments-intermtn-humboldt-toiyabe@fs.fed.us. Please enter Geothermal DEIS in the subject line. Comments must have an identifiable name attached or verification of identity will be required. A scanned signature may serve as verification on electronic documents.
Comments received in response to this solicitation, including names and addresses of those who comment, will be considered part of the public record for this project and will be available for public inspection and will be released if requested under the Freedom of Information Act.
A public open house for this project will also be held on January 20th at the Forest Supervisor’s Office, 1200 Franklin Way, Sparks, NV. The open house will be held from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. We invite you to attend and learn more about this project.
Contact: Keith Whaley, Project Coordinator, (760) 932-7070 or kwhaley@fs.fed.us.
Present your paper at the Geothermal Resources Council’s 2012 Annual Meeting, September 30 through October 3, 2012 in Reno, Nevada. Authors may submit an oral technical presentation and/or poster before April 27. Please direct all content related questions to: Frank Monastero at monasterofc@gmail.com; Lisa Shevenell at lisaas@unr.edu. Please direct all format and general submission questions to: Anh Lay at alay@geothermal.org or (530) 758-2360 ext. 100
2012 Paper Topics
- Business Development / Finance
- Basin & Range / Cascades / Rocky Mountains
- Direct Use / Heat Pump
- Enhanced Geothermal Systems
- Exploration / Resource Assessment / Management
- Geology, Geophysics and Geochemistry
- Geothermal Energy Associated with Oil and Gas Operations
- Geothermal Project Case Studies
- International
- Power Operations / Maintenance / Production Technologies
- Regulatory / Environmental Compliance / Policy Issues
- Utility and Transmission Issues
- Other _____________
Instructions to submit: http://geothermal.informz.net/geothermal/archives/archive_1972541.html
Project Abysse Seeks Support to Build Remote-Controlled, Mine-Shaft Submarine for Geothermal Implementation
From Project Abysse: We are 20 engineering students from the University of Sherbrooke that are conceiving and building a remote-controlled submarine capable of navigating in a submerged mine shaft and measuring the temperature of the surrounding water. (See 3D rendering, left)
The objective of our project is to promote the use of geothermal energy. Having the thermal gradient of a mine shaft can potentially lead to geothermal implementations.
We are currently looking for sponsors to help and encourage us in our endeavors, both on the financial side, as well as technical support. Any technical information or monetary or material donation would be greatly appreciated.
If you wish to help us in any way, you can contact Mathieu Couture at: Mathieu.G.Couture@USherbrooke.ca, or Stephane Labadie at: Stephane.Labadie@USherbrooke.ca. For more information regarding the project, visit our Web site: www.projetabysse.com.
If your company working in the geothermal industry has provided internship opportunities in the past, or is interested in doing this in the future, GEA can help. Contact Alison Holm: Alison@geo-energy.org. To see some of the work that GEA has done connecting and providing resource for students who are interested in geothermal careers, visit GEA’s networking database, the Geothermal Web: http://geothermalweb.org/Students.aspx.