GEOTHERMAL COLLEGIATE COMPETITION
DOE Geothermal Collegiate Competition Invites Teams From Collegiate Institutions to Develop Real-World Geothermal Solutions

Fall 2023 Geothermal Collegiate Competition

Thirty-three teams from 25 U.S. collegiate institutions are competing in the 2023 GCC, designing real-world geothermal solutions for a chance at $32,000 in prize funding.

This year's competition features two tracks: the Technical Track, in which 21 teams will design a geothermal heating and cooling system from the ground up for a proposed community of their choosing; and the new Policy Track, in which 12 teams will conduct an analysis of the regulatory environment and economic feasibility for a proposed geothermal system. First-place teams in each track will receive $10,000, with second place teams in each track earning $6,000. 

Nineteen teams also took advantage of the option to be paired with a volunteer mentor, gaining valuable connections to learn more about the geothermal industry. 

Teams will submit final deliverables, including stakeholder engagement plans for both tracks, in December, and winners are expected to be announced in January 2024. DOE will also provide additional funding to the winning teams to host stakeholder events in the communities in which their projects took place. 

Welcome to the Fall 2023 GCC teams! 

Technical Track: 

• Aims Community College 
• California State University, Bakersfield 
• Colorado School of Mines* 
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology 
• Missouri University of Science and Technology 
• Norwich University* 
• Smith College 
• Texas A&M University* 
• The Pennsylvania State University 
• The University of Oklahoma* 
• The University of Tulsa 
• University of Wisconsin-Madison 
• West Virginia University 

Policy Track: 

• Columbia University and Princeton University 
• Duke University 
• Grand Valley State University and University of Michigan 
• SUNY Oneonta, SUNY Polytechnic Institute, and Russell Sage College 
• The University of Oklahoma 
• The University of Tulsa* 
• University of California, Berkeley 
• University of California, Davis 
• University of California San Diego 
• University of Colorado Boulder 

*Collegiate institution with multiple teams competing 

The Geothermal Technologies Office has funded the GCC for more than 10 years, supporting workforce development and giving students a chance to gain resume experience in the geothermal industry while still in school.  

Want to be part of next year's competition as a team or a mentor? Scroll to the bottom of this page to sign up for email updates about this program!

2022 Geothermal Collegiate Competition Winning Team

In the 2022 competition, student teams designed district use geothermal systems and geothermal curriculums for local schools, partnering with local communities through stakeholder events.

Winning team: The Sooners Geothermal Team from the University of Oklahoma earned first place, and $10K, for designing a system to repurpose six abandoned oil and gas wells in Shawnee, Oklahoma, to provide clean, renewable geothermal energy for more than 730,449 square feet of educational and municipal buildings. The area includes sites within the Absentee Shawnee Tribe and Potawatomi Nation jurisdiction.

Past Competitions

Below are themes from past competitions.

• Spring 2021: Community Geothermal
  How can direct-use geothermal benefit my community?
  • GTO reached out to the participants of the 2021 GCC to learn how the competition and their backgrounds in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics prepared them for a future in the clean energy workforce and influenced their career paths. Read the full interviews.
• Fall 2020: Infographics
  How can print and digital infographics and data visualization foster broader understanding of geothermal energy?
• Spring 2020: GIS Mapping
  How can geospatial mapping