38th GRC Annual Meeting, Part One“Geothermal: A Global Solution”

T he latest edition of the GRC Annual Meeting and GEA Geothermal Energy Expo was held in late September/early October in Portland, Oregon, USA.

Over 1,400 attendees from 39 countries around the world convened in the “City of Roses” and by all accounts had a fruitful and enjoyable meeting.

We will document the meeting in two parts. In this issue we will report on the Opening Session, Golf Tournament, International Luncheon and one of the Field Trips. In the January/February GRC Bulletin we will write about the GRC Awards, other GRC Fieldtrips, the Student Leadership Luncheon, the Poster and Technical Session awards, the winners of the 34th Geothermal Photo Contest and the GEA Expo.

Opening Sessionby ian crawford

An international crowd convened on a Monday morning in the ballroom of the sumptuous Oregon Convention Center for the GRC Opening Session. Despite the early hour there was a buzz of expectancy. The first full day of the GRC Annual Meeting offered an opportunity to get the latest updates on the global geothermal energy industry including some surprising and controversial comments.

“Portland was chosen as the site for this meeting because it is the gateway to a new geothermal frontier in the U.S. Pacific Northwest,” said GRC

Executive Director Steve Ponder. “Impressive geothermal sites and volcanoes are in the immediate vicinity and Portland itself has a vibrant downtown area with world class shopping and dining.”

GRC Annual Meeting Chair Alex Sifford welcomes a packed Opening Session crowd to his Oregon home. “You pronounce it ‘OR-ih-guhn’”.32 GRC Bulletin l www.geothermal.org

Pat Reiten, CEO of PacifiCorp, one of the leading utilities in the western U.S., spoke of the exciting opportunities for geothermal energy in Oregon. Although there is only 33 MW of geothermal energy online at present there are 19 projects in development of 500 MW of discovered and 1,800 MW undiscovered potential resources in the state.

Yoram Bronicki, soon to be installed as the new President of the U.S. Geothermal Energy Association (GEA) gave an overview of the activities of his company, Ormat Technologies. The revenues for the company were now split 67% from power generation and 33% from power plant equipment.

Rachel Shimshak, Executive Director of Renewable Northwest noted that a lot of coal power plants in the region were being retired and need to be replaced by low-carbon-emitting resources. Geothermal energy could be the answer.

Cylvia Hayes, first lady of Oregon remarked that geothermal energy is an underutilized resource. She urged for a redesign of the economy to fully harness renewable

energy. Such an approach might not be the ‘silver bullet” but could be the “silver buckshot”.

In amongst the plaudits for advances in the industry there was also a call for change. David Olsen of the California Independent System Operator Corporation (CAISO) said the geothermal industry must stop selling itself as a baseload power because baseloads are actually becoming a problem.

“Geothermal can add significant value to the portfolios of most utility companies in the western U.S., but you guys are not getting it done,” said Olsen. “You are not going to win a levelized cost competition with wind and solar. When you can’t win with the rules as they are, then you have to change the game.”

Geothermal Technologies Office Director Doug Hollett took the stage to address barriers to geothermal development and how the office is working with industry, national labs, and academia to face down technical and market challenges. In addition, he outlined the Energy Department’s geothermal funding opportunities in FY14: Integrated EGS R&D, Play Fairway Analysis, and the Low-Temperature Mineral Recovery Program.

Rachel Shimshack gave a shout out to the members of WinG – Women in Geothermal – who would have a successful dinner later on during the meeting.

Juliet Newson, president of the International Geothermal Association (IGA) reminded attendees that the next big geothermal meeting would be the World Geothermal Congress in Melbourne, Australia in April 2015.

Cylvia Hayes is the fiancé of Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber and carries out the duties of “first lady” in the state.

David Olsen said “other renewable technologies are your allies, not your enemies — you are all vying for a diverse, complimentary energy portfolio. You have much more to gain by marketing and lobbying with them.”

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Doug Hollett also covered a dominant thrust of the Office’s technical portfolio for the coming years - the Frontier Observatory for Research in Geothermal Energy (FORGE).

~~~~~~~Opening Session photos by Naim Hasan

Photography LLC.More photos from the GRC Opening

Session can be seen on the GRC Flicker website at: http://goo.gl/vaedcM

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Holly McLachlan (center) receives a GRC Scholarship certificate together with a check for $4,500 for the Geothermal Project award. Presenting is GRC President Louis E. Capuano, Jr. (right) and GRC Education Committee Chair Joe Moore (left).

Megan Thomas of Gold Level sponsor Ethos Energy and Don Leger of Siemens Energy, Inc. enjoy the GRC/GEA Opening Reception.

GRC Annual Meeting:Opening Session

GRC Annual Meeting:Annual Golf Tournament

The 2014 GRC Annual Charity Golf Tournament was hosted at Heron Lakes Golf Club about 10 minutes from downtown Portland. Over 60 golfers were divided into foursomes and competed in a friendly four man scramble. The weather could not have been better for a Sunday morning in late September in the Pacific Northwest.

The proceeds raised for the tournament will be donated to the Make-A-Wish Foundation, Oregon Chapter and the GRC Student Scholarship Fund.

The winners were as follows:

First Place:• Tom Ramsay - Air Drilling Associates• Don Wells – Air Drilling Associates• Dennis Wood – Air Drilling Associates• Chandler Smith – Scientific Drilling International

Second Place: (our only two-some)• Steve Boes – Hudson Products• Roger Bastian - Cameron

Third Place:• Alan Bartley – ARB Drilling and Completion• Sylvian Brogie – Clemessy• Steve Ahn – Chicago Title• Steinar Fridgeirsson– RARIK Energy Development

Longest Drive Male: Steve Anh

Longest Drive Female: Patti Brugman – Processes Unlimited International

Closest to the Pin Female: Patti Brugman – Processes Unlimited International

34 GRC Bulletin l www.geothermal.org

A special thanks to our sponsors, Sulzer, Capuano Engineering Consultants, Scientific Drilling, Air Drilling Associates and ThinkGeoEnergy.com.

We look forward to another great tournament next year in Reno. Stay tuned for tournament details.

-Patrick Hanson, Golf Tournament Chairman.

The winning foursome! Tom Ramsay, Don Wells, Dennis Wood, and Chandler Smith.

The weather was dry and sunny at the Heron Lakes Golf Club.

More photos from the GRC Annual Golf Tournament can be seen on the GRC Flicker website at: http://goo.gl/VI3fAH n

Get set, go! Golf Tournament chair Patrick Hanson sends the golfers on their way.

Patti Brugman, longest drive and closest to the pin of the ladies!

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