Geothermal Energy 101 – Sarah Golden, Greenbiz, VP of Energy
Release Date: 04/12/2023
Electric Ladies Podcast - Women Leaders Discuss Careers, Trends, Technologies and Innovation in Energy, Climate, and Corporate Responsibility
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info_outline Geothermal Energy 101 – Sarah Golden, Greenbiz VP of Energy
“Geothermal very broadly put, is just the collection of energy from the heat that comes from the earth's core. And so it's, it's tapped into by just going to underground reservoirs and capturing some of that heat. There's a couple of broad categories I'd like to split geothermal into from the outset, and that's geothermal for electricity generation versus geothermal for direct heat applications. And so primarily with geothermal and electricity generation, it is done through drilling into the earth's crust and tapping into either dry steam… or flash steam…and using that to turn a turbine to generate electricity. The other form in direct applications is usually just tapping into the ground to do some sort of heat pump where it's primarily used for heating buildings or heating water.” Sarah Golden on Electric Ladies Podcast
The new trifecta of federal legislation – the Inflation Reduction Act, the Infrastructure Investment Act and the CHIPS and Science Act – include a range of funding for alternative energy sources, one of which is geothermal. But most people don’t know what geothermal is, so today we’ll find out.
Listen to Sarah Golden, VP of Energy at Greenbiz – who traveled with Joan to Iceland last year in part to explore their geothermal energy – in this fascinating discussion with Electric Ladies host Joan Michelson.
You’ll hear about:
- How geothermal works.
- How geothermal energy gets to the grid to provide electricity.
- How Iceland became a country run on 85% renewable energy, in part by using geothermal energy.
- How the by-products from geothermal energy companies in Iceland are being used by other companies in a truly circular economy.
- Plus, insightful career advice, such as…
“What's top of mind for me right now is, around recognizing the finite nature of what you are able to do and the way the sort of obsession that our jobs have and the way our economy is set up for productivity and churning things out…….So what I'm working on right now, and I would encourage other people to do, is to respect our finite nature, not buy into the never ending cycle of hustle culture and be thoughtful about where you really want to spend your time and design your work and personal life to make space for that without trying to please everyone else.” Sarah Golden on Electric Ladies Podcast
Read Joan’s Forbes articles here too.
You'll also like:
- “Begga” Olafsdottir, CEO of ONPower, geothermal plant & second largest energy company in Iceland, which captures CO2 also.
- Halla Hrund Logadottir, Director-General, Iceland’s National Energy Authority, on how the country has become 85% renewable energy.
- Birta Kristin Helgadottir, Director of Green By Iceland, on their unique business parks that are each circular economies.
- Michele Wucker, thought leaders and author of “You Are What You Risk: The New Art & Science to Navigating an Uncertain World.”
- Kathryn Pavlovsky, Deloitte Energy, Resources & Industrials, on the energy transformation and ESG
- Jennifer Gerbi, Ph.D., Deputy Director and Acting Director, ARPA-E, the innovation arm of the Department of Energy
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