Young to lead National Renewable Energy Laboratory geothermal energy program
The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) recently promoted Katherine Young, a senior geothermal analyst and engineer in the lab’s Strategic Energy Analysis Center, to laboratory program manager for geothermal energy.
In her new role, Young will work with NREL management to establish the lab’s geothermal energy research and development portfolio and lead discussions with DOE’s Geothermal Technologies Office to reduce the cost of developing geothermal energy.
“I am thrilled to have Kate join our leadership team,” Johney Green, associate laboratory director for Mechanical and Thermal Engineering Sciences at NREL, said. “She brings a wealth of expertise that will help bolster our important research activities with the Geothermal Technologies Office, as well as with university and industry partners.”
Since joining NREL in 2008, Young led the design and development of the Regulatory and Permitting Information Desktop (RAPID) Toolkit, an online resource that helps agencies, industry, and developers to identify the regulatory steps required for renewable power projects. She also led the development of the Geothermal Resource Portfolio Optimization & Reporting Technique (GeoRePORT), which created industry standards for reporting geothermal resources.
“One of my goals is to work with energy leaders to encourage the inclusion of geothermal in the conversation when we’re talking about small- or large-scale energy-efficiency and renewable solutions,” Young said. “Geothermal can play a significant role in the design and development of energy-efficient buildings and clean cities and is a key contributor to grid reliability and security in areas of deployment.”
Young takes over for Henry “Bud” Johnston as laboratory program manager. Johnston, NREL’s chief subsurface engineer, will focus on technical research activities to support the lab’s subsurface modeling capabilities.
