A while back leading up to our big U.S. geothermal conference I was asked to write a series of LinkedIn articles regarding the industry. It seemed useful to construct this in sort of a past/present/future perspective; to step back from the day-to-day and try to identify trends over a longer term of several decades. The links are provided below.

If geothermal isn’t your thing – perhaps you are into wave power, biomass, solar, wind etc etc, and kudos regardless to you – it still might be worth posing yourself similar questions regarding the technology that has your primary focus. For a young engineer, it would be useful to identify trends to confirm your field has current and sustained appeal for your priorities. So, give this series a read if so inclined.

The first installment is a retrospective: how have things changed from 1997 to 2017? What major trends are evident? Twenty years seems like a short time period, and a lot sure has changed in engineering in general. It’s hard to envision how dramatically things may change in the coming 30-40 years that will encompass your career.

The second installment addresses the life of people engaged in this industry. What are geothermal projects like? Why do we geothermalists enjoy this work? It’s not the biggest fish in the renewable pool, but it is a fun sector.

The third installment is speculation about the future of the industry. How does geothermal stack up against other conventional or renewable power generation options? How can this technology continue to contribute and be competitive in the coming years?

During the conference, there were some insightful papers that related to these topics, so I may write a “postscript” fourth installment, once I have the opportunity. I’d be curious to get feedback on these aspects from students in my classes.