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IGS Overview Agenda

Friday, October 24, 2025

• 7:30 AM – 5:00 PM | Indigenous Geothermal Symposium Registration
• 8:00 AM – 9:00 AM | Networking Breakfast
• 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM | Opening Session and Keynote Presentation
• 10:00 AM – 10:45 AM | Geothermal 101
• 10:45 AM – 11:00 AM | Networking Break
• 11:00 AM – 11:30 AM | Challenges, Solutions and R & D in Geothermal Energy Drilling and Project Management
• 11:30 AM – 11:40 AM | Membership
• 11:40 AM 12:00 PM | ATCE Preferred Partner Program
• 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM | Networking Lunch
• 1:00 PM – 1:20 PM | Grounded in Persistence: The Qawalangin Tribe’s Evolving
• 1:20 PM – 2:30 PM | Supporting Indigenous Sovereignty in the Energy Transition (Canada)
• 2:30 PM – 3:00 PM | Networking Break
• 3:00 PM – 3:30 PM | Aotearoa New Zealand Geothermal Update
• 3:30 PM - 3:50 PM | Pyramid Lake Paiute

·       3:50 PM – 4:30 PM | E tū ana a Tūwharetoa – Standing Strong, Standing Proud

• 4:30 PM – 5:00 PM | Daily Wrap-up

Saturday, October 25, 2025

• 8:00 AM – 9:00 AM | Networking Breakfast
• 9:00 AM – 9:05 | Welcome 
• 9:05 AM – 10:30 AM | Facilitated Discussion: Indigenous Geothermal Energy Declaration Update
• 10:30 AM – 10:45 AM| Networking Break
• 10:45 AM – 12:00 PM | Shaping the Future: Indigenous Leadership and Policy in Geothermal Development
• 12:00 PM – 1:15 PM Networking Lunch and Dance
• 1:15 PM – 1:30 PM | Indigenous Rights under Geothermal Development: Challenges and Prospects (Taiwan)
• 1:30 PM – 1:45 PM | The Role of Taiwan’s Indigenous Peoples in Geothermal Development: From Local Participation to International Connection and Social Dialogue
• 1:45 PM – 2:00 PM | The Jinlun Path to Co-Management and Shared Prosperity in Geothermal Development
• 2:00 PM – 2:20 PM | FPIC in Practice
• 2:20 PM – 2:40 PM | Harnessing the Earth’s Heat for Tribal Sovereignty
• 2:40 PM – 3:10 PM | Geothermal Roots: Connecting our past, expanding our present, and redefining our future
• 3:10 PM – 3:30 PM | Networking Break
• 3:30 PM – 5:00 PM | Country Specific Tracks
• 3:00 PM – 3:20 PM | US Federal Geothermal Policy
• 3:50 PM – 4:10 PM | Funding & Financing
• 4:15 PM – 4:35 PM| NREL
• 4:35 PM – 4:55 PM | Workforce Development
• 4:35 PM – 4:55 PM | Final Thoughts
• 4:55 PM - 5:30 PM | Closing Reception

Sunday, October 26, 2025

• Optional GRC Field Trips and Activities |Separate registration and fees required for participation. Contact registration@geothermal.org for assistance. 
• 6:30 PM – 8:30 PM | GRC Opening Reception and Exhibit Hall

Agenda subject to change. 

Friday and Saturday programming will be held in Capri Ballroom at the Peppermill Resort.

Sunday, October 26, 2025

• Optional GRC Field Trips and Activities |Separate registration and fees required for participation. Contact registration@geothermal.org for assistance. 
• 6:30 PM – 8:30 PM | GRC Opening Reception and Exhibit Hall

Agenda subject to change. 

Friday, October 24, 2025

• 7:30 AM – 5:00 PM | Indigenous Geothermal Symposium Registration
• 8:00 AM – 9:00 AM | Networking Breakfast
• 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM | Opening Session and Keynote Presentation
  • Keynote Presenter: The Honorable Shane Jones, New Zealand Minister of Regional Development and Energy
• 10:00 AM – 10:45 AM | Geothermal 101
  • This presentation will be an introduction on geothermal power generation. We will cover how geothermal energy is extracted, how it is transformed into power, applications of geothermal, and the environmental benefits.
  • Speaker: Alissa Sanchez, Ormat Technologies, Inc.
• 10:45 AM – 11:00 AM | Networking Break
• 11:00 AM – 11:30 AM | Challenges, Solutions and R & D in Geothermal Energy Drilling and Project Management
  • Challenges over the past 2 decades in the Geothermal drilling including conventional and unconventional resources, solutions that have been engineered to overcome them and the latest R & D in the industry looking into drilling deeper, harder and hotter rocks to produce renewable, baseload geothermal energy for power generation and direct use projects.
  • Speaker: Samuel Abraham, Halliburton
• 11:30 AM – 11:40 PM | Membership
• 11:40 AM – 12:00 PM | ATCE Preferred Partner Program
• 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM | Networking Lunch
• 1:00 PM – 1:20 PM | Grounded in Persistence: The Qawalangin Tribe’s Evolving
  • From a workforce development project to a geophysical field campaign, the Qawalangin Tribe of Unalaska has developed an evolving project that adapts to a changing climate, overcoming obstacles to turn the dream of diesel-free electricity into reality for the remote community of Unalaska, AK. The discussion will cover the current status of the project, including past and ongoing efforts to develop the resource, as well as an outline of the project’s future goals. We will address challenges such as having to change the scope of work entirely, pauses in work due to funding delays, and struggles to find a funding match.
  • Speaker: Delores Gregory, Qawalangin Tribe of Unalaska
•  1:20 PM – 2:30 PM | Supporting Indigenous Sovereignty in the Energy Transition (Canada)
  • This session will highlight recent advances in Canadian Indigenous geothermal, including progress toward Canada’s first ORC manufacturer. Drawing from applied research and community partnerships, I’ll share a five-rule playbook for Indigenous Nations: own the data, push for profit-based partnerships, run independent feasibility studies, stack multiple revenue streams, and walk away if projects aren’t bankable. Participants will leave with practical frameworks, examples, and deal-structuring insights to support Indigenous sovereignty in the energy transition.
  • Speakers: Denise Dodd, SLB and Leighton Gall, Cascade Institute
• 2:30 PM – 3:00 PM | Networking Break
• 3:00 PM – 3:30 PM | Aotearoa New Zealand Geothermal Update
• 3:30 PM - 3:50 PM | Pyramid Lake Paiute
  • Pyramid Lake Paiute: Geothermal Electricity Project Overview
  • Speaker: Donna Noel, Pyramid Lake Paiute
• 3:50 PM – 4:30 PM | E tū ana a Tūwharetoa – Standing Strong, Standing Proud
  • This presentation marks 20 years since the 2005 Deed of Settlement between the Crown and Ngāti Tūwharetoa (BOP). It outlines a powerful journey of transformation led by a commitment to iwi values, kaitiakitanga (guardianship), and rangatiratanga (self-determination).
  • Speaker: Karilyn TeRiini, Tuwharetoa mai Kawerau ki te Tai and Sandie Rota, Tuwharetoa mai Kawerau ki te Tai
  • Speaker: Wikitoria Te Hepi Te Huia, Tauhara North No.2 Trust Chair
• 4:30 PM – 5:00 PM | Daily Wrap-up

Saturday, October 25, 2025

• 8:00 AM – 9:00 AM | Networking Breakfast
• 9:00 AM – 9:15 | Welcome 
• 9:05 AM – 10:30 AM | Facilitated Discussion: Indigenous Geothermal Energy Declaration Update
  • Facilitated discussions focused methods to market and promote the Declaration.
  • Facilitator: Brandy Obvintseva, Geothermal Rising
• 10:30 AM – 10:45 AM| Networking Break
• 10:45 AM – 12:00 PM | Shaping the Future: Indigenous Leadership and Policy in Geothermal Development
  • This session explores how policy can serve as a tool to strengthen Indigenous leadership in geothermal. Panelists will share perspectives on overcoming structural barriers, building equitable partnerships, and creating frameworks that ensure Indigenous Nations lead in shaping geothermal’s future.  Leadership as we know requires courage, being heard and great partnerships, understand your why.
  • Moderator: Charlotte Severne, Māori Trustee
  • Panelist: Leighton Gall, Cascade
  • Panelist: Blair Andy, Upflow
  • Panelist: David Chin, Hawaiian Government
  • Panelist: Fran Minchen PAN, Taiwan Indigenous Renewable Energy Group
  • Panelist: Jessica Eagle-Bluestone, Geothermal Rising 
  •  
• 12:00 PM – 1:15 PM Networking Lunch and Dance
• 1:15 PM – 1:30 PM | Indigenous Rights under Geothermal Development: Challenges and Prospects (Taiwan)

  • Geothermal energy has emerged as a strategic focus of Taiwan’s energy policy amid the pressure of net-zero transition and the pursuit of energy self-sufficiency. At the same time, most of the geothermal resources in Taiwan are located within the traditional territories of Indigenous peoples, whose rights are legally safeguarded by the Constitution and The Indigenous Peoples Basic Law. In this context, Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC), also referred to as “right to consultation and consent” under Taiwan’s law, provides a legal framework for negotiations between developers and Indigenous communities. As a distinctive form of stakeholder engagement with binding force, the right to consultation and consent ensures a just energy transition. This session will examine the meaning of the right to consultation and consent as clarified by Taiwan’s jurisprudence and explore how it can be strengthened to foster equitable partnerships under geothermal development.

  • Speaker: Stephen Yen, Environmental Rights Foundation
• 1:30 PM – 1:45 PM | The Role of Taiwan’s Indigenous Peoples in Geothermal Development
  • From Local Participation to International Connection and Social Dialogue: This talk, traces the journey of Indigenous communities from local participation to international engagement, highlighting their shift from the margins to central roles in the energy transition. It will focus on the challenges and initiatives Indigenous peoples face in geothermal development, sharing how communities expand their influence through collaboration and innovation. Looking ahead, the talk envisions building trust-based and equitable partnerships, utilizing governance and technical tools, and advancing cross-border cooperation and knowledge exchange to create an “Indigenous Geothermal Highway,” empowering Indigenous peoples to voice and co-create within the global energy transition.
  • Speaker: Fran Minchen PAN, Taiwan Indigenous Renewable Energy Group
• 1:45 PM – 2:00 PM | The Jinlun Path to Co-Management and Shared Prosperity in Geothermal Development
  • This talk will present an Indigenous community perspective on the relationship between geothermal development and the rights of Indigenous peoples, emphasizing why meaningful participation and decision-making power are essential in the energy transition. It will share the community’s vision and practical experience of “co-management and shared benefit” in geothermal resource governance, and express hopes for future development—where government, industry, and Indigenous communities truly work together to make geothermal energy a pathway toward autonomy and sustainable development for the community.
  • Speaker: Kavavuy Kimicing, Village Leader, Jinkuan Village, Taidong County
• 2:00 PM – 2:20 PM | FPIC in Practice
  • At an Indigenous energy gathering in Hawaiʻi, we learned: “Don’t just ride the bus—learn to drive it.” But in Taiwan, Indigenous communities respond: “We haven’t even boarded the bus.” In fact, the government itself is still learning how to drive—lacking clear geothermal governance pathways. As this journey begins, we must learn to drive—together. The Environmental Rights Foundation (ERF), as an independent public-interest legal organization, plays a vital bridging role. We support Indigenous communities in interpreting policies, advocating for meaningful FPIC, and co-designing benefit-sharing mechanisms such as community trusts. From observers to drivers, Indigenous voices must shape Taiwan’s just energy transition.
  • Speaker: Yuwen TU, ERF
• 2:20 PM – 2:40 PM | Harnessing the Earth’s Heat for Tribal Sovereignty
  • Presented by the Kanosh Band of Paiutes and Ormat Technologies, this presentation highlights a collaboration to harness geothermal resources for clean, sustainable power. The presentation follows the Kanosh Band’s path from vision to partnership—culminating in a 2024 BIA EMDP award—and explores how traditional values, scientific innovation, and youth involvement are driving a new model for Tribal energy sovereignty and economic growth.
  • Speaker: Eric Pikyavit,Vice Chairman Kanosh Band of Paiutes
  • Speaker: Christopher Jim, Ormat Technologies
• 2:40 PM – 3:10 PM | Geothermal Roots: Connecting our past, expanding our present, and redefining our future
  • Connecting our past, expanding our present, and redefining our future: Geothermal systems present proven energy resources, critical solutions, and important financial opportunities. However, geothermal is also more than just a "modern solution." Humanity's relationship with geothermal systems is far older than 1904-- it is an ancestral relationship with deep roots in prehistory. We have always identified these systems as special, significant, and even sacred-- and as we look at ways to push our industry to the next level, there are lessons from our past that stand to give us a better future. Join geothermal scientist, Explorers Club Fellow, National Geographic Explorer, and TED MainStage speaker Andrés Ruzo to explore geothermal systems from a broader perspective-- and in the process, unveil an exciting leadership opportunity for the Indigenous Geothermal Symposium to advance our industry.
  • Speaker: Andrés Ruzo, Boiling River Project - SMU
• 3:10 PM – 3:30 PM | Networking Break
• 3:30 PM – 5:00 PM | Country Specific Tracks
  • US Federal Government Policy (Speaker: Dr. Ramon Sanchez, Alliance for Tribal Clean Energy)
  • Funding & Financing (Speaker: Dr. Ramon Sanchez, Alliance for Tribal Clean Energy)
  • NREL (Speaker: Amanda Kolker, NREL)
  • Workforce Development (Speaker Cary Lindsey, UNR)
• 4:45 PM – 5:15 PM | Final Thoughts
• 5:30 PM - 7:00 PM | Closing Reception

Agenda subject to change. 

Sunday, October 26, 2025

Optional GRC Field Trips and Activities |Separate registration and fees required for participation. Contact registration@geothermal.org for assistance.  6:30 PM – 8:30 PM | GRC Opening Reception and Exhibit Hall

The 2025 Indigenous Geothermal Symposium will be held in conjunction with the 2025 Geothermal Rising Conference at the Peppermill Resort in Reno, Nevada. 

Peppermill Resort

2707 S. Virginia St.

Reno, Nevada 89502

Please note that the hotel will never call or contact you directly about making reservations. To ensure your room is in the official Geothermal Rising Room Block, you should only book your room by using the forthcoming housing link or by calling the Peppermill Resort directly. The room block will be opening in April/May 2025.

Geothermal Rising has negotiated a special block specifically for our event attendees. All conference attendees should make every effort to stay at the official event hotel. Supporting the official hotel room block provides staff support to resolve hotel reservation disputes; ensures attendees receive all applicable discounts and materials; and assists GR in maintaining affordable, quality programming. 

Room rates vary ($155 - $195 plus tax and the discounted resort fee, per night) depending on the type of room selected.

Learn more about exploring Reno at the Visit Reno Tahoe website. This site, designed specifically for visitors, can help you plan an adventure just for you! Want to know the best places to go Rock Climbing? Looking for the Best Waterfall and Wildflower Hiking locations? Maybe a quiet day Fishing on the lake? Perhaps you are searching for the best Art and Cultural experiences? Visit Reno Tahoe has all the information you need to organize and prepare your expedition.

Geothermal Rising is offering two travel grant opportunities to support participation in the Indigenous Geothermal Symposium:

Indigenous Student Grant

• For Indigenous students who are U.S. residents

• Supports attendance at the Indigenous Geothermal Symposium (Oct 24–26, 2025) and the Geothermal Rising Conference (Oct 27–29, 2025)

• Deadline to Apply: October 8, 2025

  APPLY TODAY!

Indigenous Geothermal Symposium Grant

• Open to Indigenous attendees worldwide (U.S. and international)

• Supports attendance at the Indigenous Geothermal Symposium only

• Deadline to Apply: October 1, 2025

  APPLY TODAY!

Applications for both grants will be reviewed on a rolling basis, so early submission is strongly encouraged.

Registration Fee: 

• Indigenous Geothermal Symposium - $225

Register today! 

Registration Information: The symposium fee includes all sessions, activities, and meal functions. Field trips, workshops and other Geothermal Rising Conference events are not included in registration and are subject to additional fees. Please contact Geothermal Rising at registration@geothermal.org for assistance.

Symposium participants must adhere to the following registration requirements:

• Attendees are expected to participate in all Symposium activities. The Symposium is specifically designed to be interactive as well as informative.
• The Symposium is a safe place for all participants. Attendees agree to be respectful and open to multiple viewpoints and opinions.

Cancellation Policy: Registration cancellation requests must be made in writing and emailed to registration@geothermal.org by Thursday, September 25, 2025, for a partial refund. A $50 processing fee applies to cancellations postmarked or emailed by this date. NO REFUNDS will be made for cancellation requests after Thursday, September 25, 2025. Substitution(s) can be made at any time, with prior approval.

• Samuel Abraham, Halliburton
• Andy Blair, Upflow
• Aroha Campbell, Upflow
• David Chun, Hawaiian Government
• Denise Dodd, SLB
• Jessica Eagle-Bluestone, Geothermal Rising
• Kerry Fellers, Geothermal Rising
• Leighton Gall, Cascade Institute
• Delores Gregory, Qawalangin Tribe of Unalaska
• Russell Kaupa, DHHL
• Kavavuy Kimicing, Village Leader Jinkuan Village, Taidong County
• Amanda Kolker, NREL
• Christopher Jim, Ormat Technologies, Inc.
• Honorable Shane Jones, New Zealand Minister of Regional Development
• Mana Newton, Tauhara North No. 2 Trust
• Donna Noel, Pyramid Lake Paiute
• Brandy Obvintseva, Geothermal Rising
• Fran Minchen PAN, Taiwan Indigenous Renewable Energy Group
• Crystal Miller, Alliance for Tribal Clean Energy
• Donna Noel, Pyramid Lake Paiute
• Eric Pikyavit, Vice Chairman Kanosh Band of Paiutes
• Sandie Rota, Tuwharetoa mai Kawerau ki te Tai
• Andrés Ruzo, Boiling River Project – SMU
• Alissa Sanchez, Ormat Technologies, Inc.
• Dr. Ramon Sanchez, Alliance for Tribal Clean Energy
• Charlotte Severne, Māori Trustee
• Wikitoria Te Hepi Te Huia, Tauhara North No.2 Trust Chair
• Karilyn TeRiini, Tuwharetoa mai Kawerau ki te Tai
• Yuwen TU, ERF
• Stephen Yen, Environmental Rights Foundation

Interested in sponsorship opportunities at the 2025 Indigenous Geothermal Symposium?

CONTACT: 
Candi Calderone, Industry Relations Manager 
candi@geothermal.org 
1.856.437.4742 

Weren't able to attend the 2025 Thermal Energy Network Symposium? You're in luck! Join us for the Full Steam Ahead webinar, where we’ll be extending key insights and takeaways from the symposium to the wider Geothermal Rising community.

This webinar will bring together industry experts and thought leaders to discuss the latest trends, innovations, and developments in thermal energy networks. Whether you missed the event or want to revisit important sessions, this is your chance to dive deeper into the discussions shaping the future of geothermal energy.

Registration Link 

1. Training Courses

    0800 – 1700

   4 short courses are offered:

   Course 1: Devolpment and Execution of CCUS Projects
   Course 2: Geothermal Energy 101
   Course 3: Produced Water Treatment and Debottlenecking with Hydrocyclones
   Course 4: Well Abandonment: Up to Date Challenges and Practices

   CIick HERE to learn more about the course details. 

   *Registration Required.

Flyer for Networking Lunch

Flyer for SPEWRM 2025 Geothermal 101

Field Trip to the Salton Sea Geothermal Field