Working with a team led by ORNL, the U.S. Department of Energy will provide funding to deploy geothermal heating and cooling systems in federal facilities and buildings.
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has announced up to USD 6 million in funding for a team led by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) for a project that aims to expand the deployment of geothermal technologies for heating and cooling federal sites and facilities. This is an effort supported by the Federal Geothermal Partnership, a collaboration between the Geothermal Technologies Office (GTO) and the Federal Energy Management Program.
The team led by ORNL will provide technical assistance for geothermal energy deployment at federal sites. This will be done though site surveys, resource characterization, data analysis, and designs for geothermal heating and cooling systems. The following institutes and agencies comprise the team:
• National Renewable Energy Laboratory
• Lawrence Berkeley Nation Laboratory
• Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
• Illinois State Geological Survey
• International Ground Source Heat Pump Association
• Oklahoma State University
• University of Wisconsin-Madison
The federal government is considered as the nation’s largest energy users and accounts for nearly 1% of all end-use energy in the U.S. Installing geothermal heating and cooling systems at federal sites aligns with President Biden’s goal of making the federal government carbon-neutral while also demonstrating the benefits of geothermal technology.
