General Geothermal Links

The National Geothermal Education Office (K-12 information for students and teachers) - a great online resource, plus they will send you materials for a classroom.

Heat pumps use the geothermal energy of the Earth at the surface to heat and cool a home or building. This is a clean and environmentally friendly way to reduce your utility bill and fossil fuel consumption. For more technical information or list of local contractors we recommend the International Ground Source Heat Pump Association site. A second site for residential and commercial owners interested in learning more try the GEOEXCHANGE site.

The Geothermal Resources Council provides Geothermal Industry and Educational Links. The page is separated into several categories for quick reference: Public Information and K-12 School Age Sites, University Level Geothermal Information, Geothermal Related and Technical Information Sites. The Geothermal Resources Council home page has a list of meetings and activities.

Many people today are interested in learning more about Renewable Energy and its advantages. The Department of Energy web site describes the different sources and contains many facts.

Those interested in all sorts of energy from gasoline to energy efficient products try the Department of Energy, Energy Information Administration site. It even has areas just for kids.

In the eastern and southeastern United States the geothermal resources are primarily low-temperature energy sources in sedimentary and crystalline bedrock. Virginia Tech Geological Sciences Regional Geophysics Laboratory is one location researching low-temperature geothermal resources in this region of the United States.

The Oregon Institute of Technology Geo-Heat Center makes resources available to the public on the development of direct heat utilization of geothermal energy. This technological information is aimed towards consultants, developers, potential users, and the general public. This information developed through firsthand experience with hundreds of projects and through extensive research, is provided to individuals, organizations or companies involved in geothermal development.

The higher temperature resources found in deeper crystalline rocks is exploited using the concept of Hot Dry Rock, or Heat Mining. This has been highly researched by Los Alamos National Lab., but at the current time there are no producing plants existing in the United States.

In order to determine a well's thermal significance, the well temperature-depth curve is studied in comparison to regional and local conditions. A series of example temperature-depth curves with descriptions of the factors that effect their character are found at the Temperature Log page.

Informative Links concerning geothermal and other renewable energies

Texas Links

National Links

International Links

SMU Geothermal Laboratory