Energy and Economic Growth with Geothermal Energy for a Tropical Island

Let's look at how a new supply of inexpensive, readily available, dispatchable geothermal energy can become a powerful driver of economic growth on a volcanic island. At the center of the image is the volcano and geothermal plant, which symbolize the island’s ability to turn a local natural resource into a long-term source of development. Instead of relying heavily on imported fuel, the island is shown harnessing steam and hot water from below the earth to generate electricity and useful heat. The graphic emphasizes that this is not just about producing power, but about creating a foundation for productivity, resilience, and broader economic transformation. In macroeconomic terms, the image shows how expanding access to reliable energy can increase productive capacity and help shift an economy toward more sustained growth.

https://youtu.be/b534ttNnyC4

The execution of the graphic makes this idea concrete by showing multiple pathways through which geothermal energy supports the economy. Electricity from the plant is directed to the local grid, where it powers homes, schools, clinics, restaurants, and community buildings, improving everyday life and lowering energy costs. It also supports data centers and digital infrastructure, signaling that reliable energy can enable participation in more advanced sectors of the economy. This is especially important because dispatchable power is available when needed, unlike intermittent sources that depend on weather or time of day. The visual message is that dependable electricity creates the conditions for investment, innovation, education, and local enterprise to flourish.

The graphic also goes beyond electricity to show how geothermal resources can be used directly in practical and productive ways. Hot water can be used in homes, kitchens, showers, schools, and restaurants, reducing the cost of living and improving quality of life. Steam and heat can be used for food processing, drying plants, greenhouse agriculture, preservation, and light manufacturing, while heat exchange systems can provide efficient cooling for buildings and facilities.

These uses are important because they strengthen sectors other than tourism and highlight import substitution, local industry, and agricultural processing. Rather than presenting the island as dependent on visitors, the graphic presents it as an economy building internal strength through energy-intensive local production and the smarter use of local resources.

Finally, the graphic captures the human and cultural dimension of economic growth by showing local people as workers, students, farmers, cooks, technicians, and business participants. The message is that the benefits of geothermal development are meant to flow to the local population through jobs, skills, infrastructure, and shared prosperity.

The island’s culture is present not as a tourist attraction, but as the living community that gains from lower energy costs, more reliable services, and new economic opportunities. Overall, the graphic conveys that when an island can develop a dependable, low-cost energy base, it can reduce dependence on imports, raise productivity, support industry and agriculture, and create a more resilient and self-directed path to economic growth.

Converting a Webinar into a Learning Event with Google NotebookLM and Other Tools

The AAPG Enhanced Geothermal Systems webinar has been enhanced to make it possible to have an education version. The video now has learning objectives, multiple-choice questions, short answer questions, and a learning guide. Ideal for demonstrating knowledge in a quickly-evolving area of geothermal development and energy generation, and for incorporating in college / university courses in geosciences, energy, environmental science, an d more. The webinar was recorded using Zoom, and pdfs of the PowerPoint presentations were available, which was ideal since Google NotebookLM does not accommodate PowerPoint. 

Link to the webinar: https://youtu.be/mM3NtUAOyec

https://youtu.be/mM3NtUAOyec 

The learning objectives appear in the notes of the video, and the notes and assessments are available by request. Let's share the learning opportunity!

Here's the description of the webinar, and the learning objectives are listed below. I used Google LM to help me create them, and was impressed.  

Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS) are dramatically changing the landscape of geothermal energy, and it is a place where oil and gas technologies are being successfully deployed in the development of the resource. Join geothermal experts to compare enhanced geothermal systems with other geothermal resources along with subsurface characterization. Then, we'll look at where there are currently knowledge gaps and challenges, and explore possible solutions and project economics. We will close with an overview of what the USGS is doing to develop prospectivity and assessment using USGS basin and EGS modeling. This webinar is presented by the AAPG EMD Geothermal Committee, led by Nicole Wagoner, University of Nevada-Reno. Eric Stautberg, Colorado School of Mines Jabs Aljubran, NREL Justin Birdwell, USGS Nicole Wagoner, University of Nevada - Reno Susan Nash, AAPG Would you like to use this webinar as a module in your course?

Here are LEARNING OBJECTIVES

• Identify the key characteristics of EGS resources, including their reliance on engineering permeability in hot, otherwise impermeable rock units, often referred to as "hot dry rock".

• Describe the current state of geothermal energy in the US, including where utility-scale electricity is generated, its contribution to the national energy portfolio, and the US's global standing in geothermal production.

• Explain the basic concept of an EGS, including the process of creating an engineered reservoir through hydraulic, chemical, or thermal stimulation, and the circulation of working fluid to extract heat

• Differentiate between various power plant types used for geothermal electricity generation, with a focus on binary cycle power plants as the typical choice for EGS applications.

• Discuss the benefits of EGS, such as its potential to expand geothermal availability beyond traditional hydrothermal areas, provide clean, baseload energy with limited intermittency, and its low greenhouse gas emissions.

• Outline the U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) methodology for assessing EGS potential in sedimentary basins, including the inputs used (e.g., heat flow maps, 3D temperature maps, bottom hole temperatures) and the consideration of various efficiencies.

• Identify specific sedimentary basins where USGS basin modeling tools are being applied for EGS assessments, such as the Williston Basin, Denver-Julesburg Basin, and Onshore U.S. Gulf Coast.

• Explain the concept of Levelized Cost of Electricity (LCOE) as an economic metric for EGS projects and how recent improvements in drilling efficiency have impacted EGS cost

Assessments that tie to the learning objectives (Multiple Choice, Short Answer) are available by request. In addition, a learning guide is also available by request.

PROCESS NOTE: I enjoyed using Google NotebookLM https://notebooklm.google/ as a part of the process. It was remarkably easy to do so since I had an audio file from the webinar that I could upload. I could have uploaded the transcript of the webinar, too. I also had two PowerPoints. Google NotebookLM points to locations in the uploaded original instructional materials files that correspond to the learning objectives, the questions, and the learning guide.

In working with Google NotebookLM, it's all about the way that the prompts are phrased and created. The fact that it uses a RAG model approach makes it easy to check for accuracy if you're a course writer or instructional designer, and not the subject matter expert.