The winners of the 2022 Geothermal Collegiate Competition were announced by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today! Congratulations to the University of Oklahoma (first place), the University of North Dakota/Reykjavik University (second place), and the University of Colorado Boulder (third place) on their innovative geothermal designs.
The Sooners Geothermal Team from the University of Oklahoma earned first place and $10,000 for designing a system repurposing six abandoned oil and gas wells in Shawnee, Oklahoma, to provide clean, renewable geothermal energy for more than 730,449 square feet of educational and municipal buildings, including sites within the Absentee Shawnee Tribe and Potawatomi Nation jurisdiction. By using previously drilled wells that were no longer producing, the team was able to reduce drilling costs to feasibly power local schools, religious centers, and government buildings.
Hear from DOE about the importance of geothermal and learn more about the designs from the University of North Dakota and the University of Colorado Boulder in today’s announcement.
Congratulations to all competition participants this year! We hope you will consider participating again in spring 2023. For our graduates, we wish you the best of luck and encourage you to join the clean energy workforce!
