Moving Forward
The OU Sooners Geothermal Team has planned a stakeholder engagement event if awarded first, second, or third place in the DoE 2022 Geothermal Collegiate Competition. While the proposed project's location is in Shawnee, Oklahoma, the team felt that hosting the event on the University of Oklahoma-Norman campus would be beneficial for a variety of reasons. Hosting the event on campus would allow other student organizations such as the Society of Petroleum Engineers, Society of Petroleum Well Log Analysts, American Association of Drilling Engineers, and Sustainable Energy Society could all participate and further encourage other students, at both a graduate and undergraduate level, to participate and promote the project. It would also allow college students to see the benefits of participating in the project and encourage them to participate in the upcoming competition. An on-campus event would also allow both Petroleum and Geology professors to participate and interact with other community members to understand the benefits of geothermal energy and the challenges facing such projects in the local community.
A curriculum was also created to address various aspects of geothermal energy. The curriculum was reviewed by the assistant superintendent of Shawnee Public Schools as well as the principal and vice-principal of Shawnee High School. The curriculum was well received and has the potential to be taught at the high school in Fall 2022.