EGEC Conference and Travel Challenges

Hello all! In an attempt to more frequently update this, I've set some time aside today to relay some of my experiences in Pisa and the long and arduous journey back to Berlin.

The EGEC conference was a very interesting and, I think, worthwhile stop on my journey around the world. Not only did I get to spend a few nights in Italy, but I also got to rub elbows with some of the field's leading experts. Since it is such a "hot (pun definitely intended) topic" in the geothermal world, EGS made several appearances in the 2 day conference and was discussed quite in detail, much to my delight.

The first day of the conference primarily focused on geothermal heating and cooling. It was still rather relevant though, as the overall focus of the meeting was on the geothermal technology platform and its roadmap for deployment. As such, there was a great deal of discussion on how the European Commission allocates resources for technology research and development, and how geothermal technologies can best receive a portion of those funds. There was also a brief discussion on current EU legislation affecting geothermal and renewable technologies more generally, which was very informative for me, as I had very limited knowledge of EU policies.

The second day was more geared towards my particular focus, that is, geothermal electricity. Again there was a nice focus on how the development plan for geothermal will hugely affect the funding it receives from the European Commission. It was also encouraging to see that all of the future project scenarios for geothermal development are completely dependent on the successful commercialization of EGS. It was stressed in several presentations that without the development of EGS, the predicted growth of the geothermal industry would be severely limited. When I say this is nice, I don't mean because the fate of geothermal energy's future rests on a rather uncertain branch of technology, it's more because I'm very excited that the experts of the geothermal world share my belief that EGS has huge worldwide potential and are encouraging its development.

It was very interesting to me that several debates were prompted regarding the definition of EGS itself. As I've mentioned before, the term EGS is constantly debated, and there are several other names that it goes by. In Germany, for example, the EGS feed-in tariff doesn't use the term EGS at all, but instead calls them "petrothermal resources". EGS (Enhanced Geothermal Systems) is also often referred to as "engineered geothermal systems", hot dry rock, hot fractured rock, and the list goes on. It seems almost silly to debate over things like this for so long, but because so many reservoirs have unique characteristics that make them difficult to classify, the definition of terminology has huge political and financial ramifications for projects. Just as an example, in Germany, the Landau project, which I visited, is NOT granted the EGS feed-in tariff. Because of the way Germany defines a pertothermal system, Landau doesn't qualify, even though it is recognized by the geothermal community as an EGS project. Additionally, Soultz, the long-time champion project of the EGS industry, is not necessarily considered to be EGS since it is a partially open system. Very interesting stuff. Something so seemingly simple as the name of the term used can hugely affect the financial and public resources available to a particular project. Furthermore, classification as EGS or non-EGS would hugely affect the favorability for investment of a specific project.

My time in Pisa not spent at the conference was very enjoyable, but very hot. The temperatures there ranged from 75-85 degrees, with a humidity level similar to that Hawaii. I was able to visit the Leaning Tower, which, as I've heard is more or less the only thing to really do in Pisa. I also was able to watch the France vs. Uruguay game of the World Cup in a hilariously tiny little bar around the corner of my hostel. Italians sure know how to appreciate "football". I befriended a jovial old man who shared my table because it was so crowded, and although he didn't speak any english other than, "Hello, how are you today?", we had a great time cheering against each other (he was rooting for Uruguay and I was rooting for France). Other than not being cool enough for my liking, the hostel I stayed at was very nice and the staff very friendly. I did get attacked by mosquitos during the night since we left the window open, but I had a rather pleasant stay in Pisa in spite of that.

My journey back to Berlin was rather interesting. I got to the airport with plenty of time to spare, as is characteristic of me and my nervous traveling tendencies. The flight to Frankfurt was quick and easy. However, at this point in my journey, I hit a little snag. Due to poor planning on my part, I didn't realize that there is no quick way to get to Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof (the central station) from Frankfurt Hahn, the airport that Ryan Air flies to. I luckily found a bus that made the hour and a half trip for only 10 euro. For the first time in my life, my over-allocating time in between legs of travel paid off. I arrived at Frankfurt Hahn at 1:20. My train was scheduled to leave at 4:13. I made it to the train station at 3:45 before realizing that I printed the wrong train reserveration confirmation. Desperate, I went to the ticket center where one of the attendants basically saved my life and printed off my reservation for me. I then had to dash to the other end of the 14-car long platform to get to my wagon. I made it with literally seconds to spare (as soon as I stepped on the train, the bell sounded, the doors closed, and it left). It got in to Berlin a little behind schedule so I took a taxi instead of taking the bus to my hostel. When I arrived, no one was there to open the door and check me in. Luckily another guest let me in, and shortly after, I found someone to check me in.

Today was spent organizing my research, preparing a presentation for Japan, and setting up some things for Australia. Tonight I will be hopefully be watching the Germany vs. Australia game (which should be insanely exciting to watch here).

Hope everyone is doing well! We'll see if I'm able to keep up with this updating schedule.