2024 Geothermal Collegiate Competition

Welcome to the 2024 Geothermal Collegiate Competition (GCC)! Stay up to date on competition announcements and details by selecting the "Follow" button at the top of the page. 

• Through the Geothermal Collegiate Competition, the U.S. Department of Energy Geothermal Technologies Office (GTO) encourages students to develop innovative solutions for geothermal energy application challenges and build career skills for the clean energy workforce. 
• 2024 GCC prizes and awards include:
  • 1st place (for each track): $10,000
  • 2nd place (for each track): $6,000
  • 3rd place (for each track): $2,000
  • Bonus for outstanding submission from a team of all Tribal college and/or community college students: $2,000
  • Honorable mention for best informative graphic: recognition on social media and announcements
  • Honorable mention for best video: recognition on social media and announcements

A team may receive the bonus prize or an honorable mention either separately from or in addition to other awards. To get details on submission material content and evaluation criteria, read the rules.

Registration closed on October 7, 2024. 

Teams must have at least three undergraduate and/or graduate members (can be from multiple schools), and students of any discipline can participate. Final competition deliverables are due on December 20, 2024.

There are two competition tracks: Technical and Policy.

• Technical Track teams will perform a resource assessment and design a geothermal heating and cooling system for a community of their choosing. The design can also include other renewable energy technologies and/or storage.
• Policy Track teams will present a high-level idea for a geothermal heating and cooling system in a community or campus, focused on an analysis of the regulatory environment, economic assessment, and workforce development analysis. 

Read the 2024 rules for details.

Specifics to note:

• This competition is open for undergraduate and/or graduate students pursuing any major or minor. 
• The Geothermal Collegiate Competition invites participation by teams of at least three students enrolled in accredited U.S.-based collegiate institutions or U.S. citizens enrolled at non-U.S. based collegiate institutions. In this case, “collegiate institution” refers to any school of post-secondary or higher education, including but not limited to community colleges, technical colleges, and traditional four-year and graduate-level universities. See “Who Can Enter” in the rules for more information. 
• There is no cost to register or participate.
• Additional details are available on the Geothermal Collegiate Competition webpage.

If you want to receive updates, use the "Follow" feature on this page. For questions, email .