This week is Texas Energy Independence Week. This tradition was started in the early 1990s by the Texas Renewable Energy Industries Association (TREIA), of which SMU is a member.

There are many free activities for the public in the State Capitol Building, including an informational exhibit and a public forum on renewable energy. These activities are designed to help inform the public on the importance of energy in this country.

“During Texas Energy Independence Week we are reminded that energy and security go hand-in-hand,” President of TREIA Charles H. Freeman said. “It will take the most creative government officials working effectively with the best entrepreneurial minds of our state to meet the energy challenges we face and still maintain a strong economy, a clean environment and a safe and secure society.”

Texas Energy Independence Week is a way to promote alternative sources of energy that are better for the environment. One of the main alternative types of energy used today is geothermal energy.

The SMU Geothermal Lab has been promoting awareness about geothermal energy for many years, and has aimed to make a large difference in the world. Geothermal energy originates from within the earth and continuously flows outward. Wells are drilled into the geothermal reservoirs to bring the hot water to the surface. Once the water is brought to the surface, it is used to generate electricity in geothermal power plants or for energy saving non-electrical purposes.

There are many advantages to using geothermal energy to generate electricity. It is clean, easy on the land, reliable, flexible, cheap and helps developing countries to grow. These power plants conserve nonrenewable fossil fuels, which in turn reduce emissions that harm the atmosphere. The plants are designed to run 24 hours a day, every day, and are resistant to interruptions of power generations due to weather, natural disasters, etc. All the “fuel” like the sun and the wind are always available to power plants.

Geothermal energy is also used in non-electric ways. People all around the world use geothermal water, even when it is not hot enough to generate electricity. Whenever it is used directly, it conserves energy and replaces polluting energy resources with clean ones. This is usually done through geothermal heat pumps, which use the natural heat storage capacity of the earth or ground water to provide energy efficient heating and cooling.

SMU has been a serious contributor to geothermal development for years. The Geothermal Lab was established in 1968 by Dr. David Blackwell, who is still a professor here at SMU.

“Last March the lab hosted the first conference on the topic of combining oil [and] gas wells for geothermal heat attraction,” Geothermal Lab coordinator Maria Richards said. “There were 110 people who attended from all over the world.”

This June SMU is hosting a two-day conference-Geothermal Energy Utilization Associated with Oil and Gas Development-here on campus. This is an international conference that will cover a number of topics such as power generation technology advancements, geothermal resource exploration and assessment, enhanced geothermal systems-international, and many more. According to the geothermal Web site, “this conference will specialize in the enhancement of existing oil and gas wells for electrical production.”