The National Geothermal Academy, hosted by the ҹɫÊÓƵ, was once a nationally-recognized program known for its expert-led geothermal courses. The program was funded by the Department of Energy (DOE) for years, yet the last time the course was held was in 2019. One University researcher is leading the charge to bring the program back.
Cary Lindsey is a research geologist at the in the Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology and also served as a postdoctoral scholar in the Center from 2018 to 2021. Lindsey attended the National Geothermal Academy as an undergraduate after her junior year at Mississippi State University in 2012. That experience helped shape her career as a geothermal scientist.
The Academy provided an eight-week course, with training focusing on a different area of geothermal each week. The first four weeks were generally dedicated to geothermal geology, and the last four weeks were dedicated to geothermal engineering. Undergraduate or graduate students could enroll for the full eight weeks and receive six credits, and industry professionals could sign up to attend the courses during the weeks featuring topics they were interested in. People attended the course from all over the globe.
Lindsey said that of the approximately 22 people who attended the full eight-week course with her in 2012, “nine or 10 are still working in geothermal. That was a pretty good investment by the DOE.”
Just seven years later, Lindsey returned to the Academy as an instructor, teaching a course on geostatistics. After a long hiatus, Lindsey said now is the time to revive the Academy.
“[This decade,] 2020 to 2030 has been termed the ‘Geothermal Decade,’ and our industry is growing so fast that we cannot keep up with the demand for skilled employees,” Lindsey said.
She said there are a lot of engineers and geologists migrating to geothermal from the oil and gas industry and bringing some of their technologies with them. Lindsey said there is overlap in the skillsets required for oil and gas production and for geothermal production, including knowledge of geology and subsurface energy systems.
“There’s a lot of transfer,” Lindsey said. “But when it comes to drilling into an oil reservoir and drilling into boiled, pressured water, it’s an entirely different thing.”
That’s why the first course offered as part of the National Geothermal Academy’s revival is a one-week course on geothermal drilling. The course will be held July 20 through July 24.
“This will be aimed at folks who are continuing their education who are already maybe working in the space,” Lindsey said.
The course is designed to capture people who work in the geothermal industry but not in drilling and people who work in oil and gas drilling who don’t have experience with geothermal drilling. Some participants may not work in the industry, for example, Bureau of Land Management staff who issue exploration permits and want to better understand the drilling process.
Lindsey is coordinating the course but is bringing in experts from the Well Control School in Houston, TX to teach the course. The course is hosted at the University’s Redfield campus, next to the Ormat-operated Steamboat geothermal plant. Ormat has also sent its employees to the program in the past and has committed to sponsoring a full student scholarship for the program this year.
The course will enroll approximately 40 students, with 30 of them paying participants and 10 being undergraduate and graduate students. The undergraduate and graduate students will reside in the dorms on campus.
“We will fully scholarship those students through our fundraising and donor efforts,” Lindsey said.
Students will only need to travel to Reno and will earn two credits for the weeklong course.
“We want them coming back for Ph.Ds., we want them to love Reno and love their time at the University,” Lindsey said. “That’s what happened for me when I was here in 2012.”
At that time, the Academy was run by Foundation Professor and Daniel A. and Edith E. O’Keefe Endowed Professor for the Mackay School, Wendy Calvin.
“As a former graduate of the program, Cary knows the ins and outs, and has been an instructor for course offerings in the past,” Calvin said. “She has the broad perspective needed as well as the enthusiasm of knowing how the academy has helped in her own career.”
Lindsey said she frequently runs into people who attended the National Geothermal Academy. She’s been wanting to bring the program back to the University for years, but her role keeps her busy.
“I finally realized … we’re going to stay busy, and that’s a good thing,” she said. “We have to make it happen, we have to make the bandwidth.”
Rapid advancements in geothermal drilling have created a growing demand for workforce training like that offered at the National Geothermal Academy. Lindsey hopes to continue to grow the Academy over time and to partner with companies to expand scholarship opportunities and course offerings. She and Calvin hope the program can eventually provide modules covering all aspects of geothermal development. Despite feeling confident that the program could secure DOE funding again, Lindsey is working hard to make the program self-sufficient, paying for the space, utilizing campus resources, providing scholarships and paying instructors.
“This is something I’ve been wanting to see happen for a long time,” Lindsey said. “And when you start doing something you’re really excited about, you kind of find the bandwidth and you get the energy.”
Lindsey hopes the revived Academy will introduce more students to geothermal careers and encourage them to continue their education at the University.
As Calvin pointed out, Nevada’s rich geothermal potential offers an excellent opportunity to teach students about traditional and hidden geothermal systems.
Those interested in taking the course can reach out to Cary Lindsey via email.
