Community Engagement

The Geothermal Technologies Office (GTO) engages with community members to learn about their knowledge and awareness of geothermal energy, answer questions, and provide educational resources to help communities understand how geothermal might support their energy needs.

These engagement efforts aim to help communities learn about geothermal energy and empower them in making decisions and choices that support their local needs. This work also builds on GTO’s 2019 GeoVision analysis roadmap, which outlined the importance of community engagement to expand geothermal energy. 

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is supporting these GTO efforts to engage directly with communities on all geothermal energy applications, including electricity generation, direct use, and heating and cooling. 

Building Lasting Relationships in Alaska 

Through the Alaska project, NREL identified a large team of geothermal stakeholders in the state and developed relationships to enable future collaboration between DOE, its national laboratories, and Alaskan communities interested in geothermal energy development. GTO continues to build relationships with the Alaska Center for Energy and Power, the Alaska Energy Authority, DOE’s Arctic Energy Office, DOE’s Office of Indian Energy Policy and Programs, Homer Electric Association, and the Renewable Energy Alaska Project. 

Educational Fact Sheets for Alaska and Beyond 

Through the stakeholder engagement work in Alaska, GTO discovered knowledge gaps within communities close to geothermal resources. In response to communities’ requests for materials, GTO created educational resources—which have also proven to be popular beyond Alaska. The What is Geothermal Energy? and What are Geothermal Heat Pumps? fact sheets developed based on this feedback are in the top five geothermal resources downloaded on DOE’s website and have appeared at numerous roundtables and conferences since their publication.  

Listening to Communities in Hawai’i 

The series of listening sessions GTO, NREL, and the Hawai’i Community Council are collaborating on in 2024 are paramount to ensuring many local voices—including utilities and industry, community organizations, academia, state agencies, and nonprofits— are part of the conversation on Hawaiʻi’s clean energy future, and that GTO and NREL understand interests in and barriers to geothermal energy from a variety of unique perspectives. These listening sessions have allowed NREL to convene local stakeholders, connect with Hawaiian residents, and glean sufficient input to create a Hawai’i-focused geothermal fact sheet. 

Learn more about GTO and NREL’s community engagement work in Alaska.