Dear Mr. Gates,
We
wanted to thank you for your blog post of December 12 on the “4 Signs of Progress on Climate Change” and your commitment on finding solutions to Climate
Change. We read this piece with great interest, specifically on your commitment
towards “especially promising but also underfunded” areas in clean energy
investments, including Geothermal Power.
We are extremely
pleased to see this commitment towards Geothermal Energy and agree with your
statement that it is ´a phenomenal
amount of energy stored up as heat
under the Earth's surface´. We are the International
Geothermal Association, and the undersigned 31 people are together forming its
Board of Directors. We represent countries, companies, research institutes, and
universities. All with a passion for geothermal energy and a dedication to see
the Geothermal Industry thrive.
We love
the efforts and the goal of Breakthrough
Energy Ventures and the initial investment areas of focus. We share your view
that heat stored near-surface in volcanic
islands are the quick wins. We also take note that mature techniques, notably
from the Petroleum Industry, help to unlock geothermal resources deeper in the
subsurface.
This is
exactly why we are engaged and committed to bring geothermal further: the quick
wins are done. We need to push
harder, collaborate together, and work effectively towards connecting those unexploited geographic areas to their
phenomenal energy source beneath their feet. We are keen to work with you and
your Breakthrough Energy Ventures to
make this happen.
We have
the following Vision:
·
We
want to help the world economies to let go of the fossil-fuel addiction and let
geothermal energy play its part in replacing fossil-based heat and power generation
·
We
want to turn geothermal prospects into bankable
projects by creating an attractive investors
environment
·
We
support policy development, based on
the value provided by geothermal and promote good governance of geothermal operations worldwide
·
Local
economic development: geothermal as
local source of power through distributed development and decentralised
economic development in rural areas.
·
Replacing coal through deep geothermal
applications
·
Cleaning up the air: replacing fossil fuels in the
heating sector, improving air-quality, health and well-being (see China)
·
Access to water and food: Geothermal provides access to
water and heating for greenhouses, as well as cooling.
No
other renewable energy and fossil-fuel based technology can compete on the unique
and various attributes and opportunities offered by geothermal. We all know the
transformative impact geothermal energy can have on communities and the planet
and want to share that with others.
We kindly
ask for the chance to meet you or the team of Breakthrough Energy Ventures to
discuss ways to identify catalysts that can help push for increased geothermal
development around the world. Only when we are collaborating and bundling efforts on pushing geothermal development worldwide, will geothermal energy be able to live up to its great potential in the important energy transition.
You can find the International Geothermal Association via its website at www.lovegeothermal.org.
Dr. Marit Brommer, Executive Director, International Geothermal Association
e-mail: iga@hs-bochum.de – phone: +49 234 32 10 712
You can find the International Geothermal Association via its website at www.lovegeothermal.org.
Dr. Marit Brommer, Executive Director, International Geothermal Association
e-mail: iga@hs-bochum.de – phone: +49 234 32 10 712
The
Board of Directors of the International Geothermal Association (IGA):
- Bjarni Bjarnason, Reykjavik Energy, Iceland
- Andrea Blair, Women in Geothermal, New Zealand
- Rolf Bracke, Bochum University of Applied Science, Germany
- Paul Brophy, EGS, Inc., U.S. (GRC Member)
- Jane Brotheridge, Jacobs Engineering, New Zealand
- Louis Capuano, Capuano Engineering, U.S. (GRC Member)
- Surya Darma, Indonesia
- Bruno della Vedova, Fondazione Internazionale Trieste, Italy
- Ariel D. Fronda, Department of Energy, Philippines
- Albert Genter, Électricité de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France
- Ludvik Georgsson, UNU – Geothermal Training Program, Reykjavik, Iceland
- Colin Harvey, Harvey Consultants, New Zealand
- Georgina Izquierdo, Instituto de Investigaciones Eléctricas, Mexico
- Beata Kepinska. Academy of Science, Poland
- Kristin Vala Matthiasdottir, HS Orka, Iceland
- Peter Meier, GeoEnergie Suisse, Switzerland (GRC Member)
- Paul Moya, West-Jec, Costa Rica (GRC Member)
- Juliette Newson, Iceland School of Energy, Iceland
- Peter Omenda, Consultant, Kenya
- Abadi Poernomo, Indonesia Geothermal Association, Indonesia (GRC Member)
- Alexander Richter, ThinkGeoEnergy, Iceland
- Horst Rüter, HarbourDom, Germany
- Andrew Sabin, Geothermal Program Office, U.S. (GRC Member)
- Ka Noel Salonga, EDC, Philippines
- Gabor Szita, Porcio Ltd./ Hungarian Geothermal Association, Hungary
- Valentina Svalova, Institute of Environmental Geoscience RAS, Russia
- Toshi Uchirida, AIST, Japan
- Massimo Verdoya, University of Genova, Italy
- Shigeto Yamada, Fuji Electric, Japan (GRC Member)
- Sadiq Zarrouk, University of Auckland, New Zealand