More than a decade ago...

I’d last attended the WGC in 2015, when this global gathering of the geothermal community was co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand. I presented research on heat produced through natural radioactive decay in rocks in Ireland: finding buried granite to serve as a source of geothermal energy for power generation was a hot topic at the time, and I was excited to see how we compared to other markets. It quickly became clear that Ireland’s rather ordinary underground temperatures wouldn’t be a primary target for power in the short-term.

For the island’s geology, the more immediate solution was directly transferring geothermal heat energy to buildings. Direct heating wasn’t terribly fashionable in 2015, even though the global market had grown 45% in the previous five years. Improving technology meant USA, China, Sweden, Germany and France were increasingly using ground source heat pumps. A buzz was emerging around using more heat from the ground to warm greenhouses and factories, and heat public and private buildings. It was noticeable these installations were significantly reducing CO2 emissions; they were also increasing jobs and growing this energy sector.

Evolving

Fast forward eleven years and the flexibility of using geothermal energy for direct heating was indeed front and centre at WGC 2026. Of course, there was still interest in drilling technology and digital innovation, as well as deep exploration for geothermal energy, but the process of lower temperature heating and cooling was no longer the quiet sibling.

Instead, there were dozens of presentations on examples of thermal energy storage, district and network heating, using infrastructure (such as mines), decarbonisation of commercial processes, and ground-breaking heat pump and system design. All of them used heat from the ground to locally heat, or cool, in places as diverse as Germany, China, Canada, Hungary and Great Britain.

Round table sessions focused on how low-, medium- and high-temperature geothermal energy can support heating and cooling in cities and rural communities, enable commercial scale greenhouse development, aquaculture, and industrial processes. They also discussed its significant role in energy security, reducing heating costs, lowering impact on the electrical grid and improving air quality.

In addition, geothermal energy was being positioned as a tool for community resilience, economic development and improved quality of life. How things had changed!

And more besides

Supporting the themes around community and wellbeing, the Congress also held sessions on sustainable development, the built environment, and communication and public perception. As part of this last strand, GEMINI’s own Dr Aoife Braiden (RML) delivered a very well-received presentation outlining how we are approaching the challenges of a cross-border project and engaging with diverse stakeholders unfamiliar with  geothermal energy resources. Questions and conversations with audience members afterwards were fruitful and rewarding.

In my communications role for GEMINI, I was keen to connect with delegates who had worked on similar projects already and I chatted with several who had developed innovative public outreach and encouraged stakeholder participation. On building sustained partnerships with local communities, I spoke to teams who had worked with indigenous people in New Zealand and Canada, and who had generated creative communications activities in Iceland. It was delightful to chat with experienced people keen to share their knowledge and eager to hear about the island of Ireland’s own journey.

Sessions built around discussion panels, as well as workshops and field trips, meant that there were ample opportunities to network extensively. Dozens of vibrant exhibition booths visited during the breaks covered a wealth of technology, innovation and practices from all over the world.

Final word

There was a certain irony in the world’s leading geothermal energy event taking place in Calgary, the oil and gas capital of Canada. Nevertheless, a closing address by Brian Jean, Alberta’s Minister of Energy and Minerals, stressed the province’s commitment to renewables, and spoke of how their local expertise in the subsurface is now driving geothermal developments in Europe.

It is impossible to overstate these benefits of knowledge sharing and building ties with others. The island of Ireland lags behind much of Europe in its adoption of geothermal energy, but it’s reassuring that we have community members in the EU and across the globe supporting GEMINI’s ambition to deliver this clean, safe, renewable energy on our island.

Photos from top:
Nicola Noller (RML) (inset) ;Delegates gather at WGC2026, Calgary; Gestur Petursson (Icelandic Environment & Energy Agency): keynote presentation on the Wimby; Round table discussion at WGC 2026; Spreading the word about geothermal on the island of Ireland.

The story of WGC2026 in numbers:
🌍 73 countries represented
👥 2,000+ delegates
🎤 586 oral presentations
🖥️ 180 e-posters
💬 29 panels, round tables and plenary sessions
🤝 59 exhibition booths and 6 pavilions

The World Geothermal Congress takes place every three years and Nairobi will host the 2029 event - Kenya is Africa’s leading geothermal power generating nation. GEMINI looks forward to presenting Ireland’s geothermal achievements there!

You can read the report on GEMINI's survey on Public Perception of geothermal energy, which informs the project’s communications work.

RML is a GEMINI partner.