The National Geothermal Academy, hosted by the University of Nevada, Reno, will be revived this year with a one-week course on geothermal drilling to be held on 20-24 July 2026. This will be the first time that the program will be held since 2019.
“[This decade,] 2020 to 2030 has been termed the ‘Geothermal Decade,’ and our industry is growing so fast that we cannot keep up with the demand for skilled employees,” said instructor Cary Lindsey, who has been instrumental in bringing the program back to life. She says that there are a lot of engineers and geologists migrating from oil and gas to geothermal, but “when it comes to drilling into boiled, pressured water, it’s an entirely different thing.”
For this reason, the decision was made to offer a drilling course as the first course of the reinvigorated National Geothermal Academy. The course is designed for people who work in the geothermal industry but not in drilling, or people who work in oil and gas drilling but do not have experience in geothermal drilling. It is also open to participants who may not work in the industry but want to better understand the drilling process.
The course will enroll approximately 40 students, with 30 of them paying participants and 10 being undergraduate and graduate students. Scholarships will be provided to these students through fundraising and donor efforts.
Lindsey is coordinating the course but is bringing in experts from the Well Control School in Houston, TX to teach the course. The course is hosted at the University’s Redfield campus, next to the Ormat-operated Steamboat geothermal plant.
Those interested in taking the course may get in touch directly with Cary Lindsey via email: caryl@unr.edu
Reviving the program
The National Geothermal Academy had been funded by the Department of Energy for years and was once a nationally-recognized program known for its expert-led geothermal courses. The Academy provided an eight-week course, with training focusing on a different area of geothermal each week. The first four weeks were generally dedicated to geothermal geology, and the last four weeks were dedicated to geothermal engineering.
Lindsey attended the National Geothermal Academy as an undergraduate after her junior year at Mississippi State University in 2012. This was an experience that helped shape her career as a geothermal scientist. Lindsey said that of the approximately 22 people who attended the full eight-week course with her in 2012, “nine or 10 are still working in geothermal.
Just seven years later, Lindsey returned to the Academy as an instructor, teaching a course on geostatistics. After a long hiatus, Lindsey said now is the time to revive the Academy.
“As a former graduate of the program, Cary knows the ins and outs, and has been an instructor for course offerings in the past,” said Foundation Professor and Daniel A. and Edith E. O’Keefe Endowed Professor for the Mackay School, Wendy Calvin. “She has the broad perspective needed as well as the enthusiasm of knowing how the academy has helped in her own career.”
The increasing pace of geothermal growth has created a growing demand for workforce training like that offered at the National Geothermal Academy. Lindsey hopes to continue to grow the Academy over time and to partner with companies to expand scholarship opportunities and course offerings. Despite feeling confident that the program could secure DOE funding again, Lindsey is working hard to make the program self-sufficient, paying for the space, utilizing campus resources, providing scholarships and paying instructors.
“This is something I’ve been wanting to see happen for a long time,” Lindsey said. “And when you start doing something you’re really excited about, you kind of find the bandwidth and you get the energy.”
Lindsey and Calvin are hoping that the program can eventually provide modules covering all aspects of geothermal, and that the revived Academy will help introduce more students to geothermal careers and continue their education in the University.
Source: University of Nevada Reno
