FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:  Susie P. Gonzalez

susie.gonzalez@trinity.edu

Aug. 13, 2009

Trinity University to Host Geothermal Symposium in September

SAN ANTONIO – Geothermal energy is clean, cool, and fuel-free. Given San Antonio’s debate about how to meet increasing power needs, the Geothermal Symposium scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 19 is timely. The session will be from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the campus of Trinity University in the Chapman Center Auditorium. However, check-in and breakfast begin at 8 a.m.

The symposium is open to students, the public, and energy professionals. Registration is $25 but drops to $12 for high school and college students. The fee includes the program, continental breakfast, lunch, and access to exhibitor tables. Seating is limited, and advance registration is on a first-come, first-seated basis. Professional Engineers who attend will receive a certificate for four professional development hours toward license renewal.

Texas has the potential to be first in the nation using geothermal energy, just as it has for solar power. South Texas is particularly suited for the development of geothermal air conditioning and electricity generation. Not only is geothermal clean but reliable as an energy source that uses mature technology and is fuel-free.

The cost recovery for installing geothermal systems in residences and small businesses is roughly equivalent to that of solar photovoltaics. The cost for central geothermal in Texas is projected to be lower than elsewhere because previously drilled spent oil and gas wells can be used for geothermal piping.

Speakers at the symposium will include Maria Richards, coordinator of Southern Methodist University’s Geothermal Laboratory; Stathis Michaelides, chairman of the UTSA department of mechanical engineering; and Glenn Kroeger, chairman of Trinity University’s department of geosciences.

Registration deadline is Saturday, Sept. 12. To register, go to www.trinity.edu/departments/engineering/events/GTS-09.html  or call 210-999-7601.

The event is sponsored by the Trinity University engineering science department in partnership with the U.S. Green Building Council, Central Texas-Balcones Chapter, San Antonio Environmental Policy Office, CPS Energy, San Antonio Clean Technologies Forum, and the mechanical engineering department at UTSA.

For additional information, contact Diana Glawe, associate professor of engineering science at Trinity, at 210-999-7515, or geothermal community advocates Loretta Van Coppenolle at 210-492-4620 or Howard Rogers at 830-992-9507 or 830-990-4120.

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