Research-Backed Strategies for Geothermal Public Engagement
Wednesday, October 29, 2025
7:30 AM - 9:30 AM
Panel Description: This panel will cover best practices in community engagement and communications. Public awareness of geothermal is low, and CATF's research suggests that the vast majority of US residents have little to no understanding of how geothermal power production works. However, as geothermal energy begins to approach liftoff, media coverage and public awareness is growing quickly. The geothermal community is in a critical window: we can shape public perceptions of geothermal while they're still flexible, but not for much longer.
CATF has conducted extensive quantitative and qualitative research, via surveys and focus groups, which clearly indicate best practices in community engagement (defined as interacting with local communities near a project site) and communications (defined as communicating with those outside the geothermal community, from the general public to journalists and beyond). This panel would feature experts in these topics who can share the results of their research and tangible, practical advice based on that research which the rest of the geothermal community can rely on. The focus of the panel would be on all forms of geothermal power generation, including conventional and next-generation.
Moderator: Terra Rogers, Clean Air Task Force
Panelists:
- Ari Appel, Greenlight
- Ann Garth, Clean Air Task Force
- Carlos Gorraez, Geothermal Rising
- Augusta "Gus" Grand, Eden Geothermal