An ELI Public Webinar
Geothermal energy, which uses heat from inside the Earth, has the potential to help meet significant energy demands while reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Recent advances in the technology have made its deployment more feasible, but the current legal landscape is still developing, and the existing regulatory framework is an incomplete patchwork at best.
One of the primary uses of geothermal energy is the heating and cooling of buildings. By harnessing stable temperatures located 10 to 100 meters underground, geothermal heat pumps and thermal energy networks can significantly improve the efficiency of heating and cooling homes and businesses. Connecting these subterranean pipelines across cities could save significantly on critical energy expenses while reducing overall energy demand, but it would require extensive drilling and the retrofitting of existing buildings and infrastructure.
In this webinar, panelists will discuss efforts underway to promote geothermal heat pumps and thermal energy networks. The webinar will raise awareness of emerging legal, policy, and technical questions in hopes of facilitating increased collaboration in efforts to provide clean, efficient energy to communities. A second webinar in January will focus on the use of geothermal for electricity generation.
Panelists:
Susannah Dibble, Staff Attorney, ELI, Moderator
Gabriel Eckstein, Professor of Law; Director, Energy, Environmental, and Natural Resource Systems Law Program, Texas A&M University School of Law
Andrew Iliff, Policy Director, HEET
Katrina McLaughlin, Clean Energy Manager, U.S. Polsky Energy Center, World Resources Institute
Materials:
Materials will be posted as they are received.
ELI Members will have access to a recording of this session (usually posted to this page within 3-5 business days). If you are not an ELI member but would like to have access to archived sessions like this one, please see the many benefits of membership and how to join.