1-It was agreed upon that communication between members will be through the new IGSHPA app, we will ask for the International committee to have a section dedicated to that committee.
2-We will develop an “in Country trainer” for each chapter, the particulars to be determined through negotiations with IGSHPA Stillwater. Dr. Lu Xing has volunteered to represent China along with one other person, we also have a volunteer for Australia.
3-All “in Country” training will go through the Chapter of that Country.
4-We will continue this dialogue with the various chapters through the app.
5-We agreed that we would support the next IGSHPA Sweden’s conference.

Jack DiEnna also met with In Ki Jun from Korea to discuss the forming of a chapter in that country, Garry Sexton will also shepherd that initiative. We would welcome any other countries that want to start a chapter to contact us through the IGSHPA app.

Marketing Committee
Kent Kuffner of Carrier Corp. has been selected as the Marketing Committee Chairman. The marketing committee exists to inform the geothermal industry of the opportunities and benefits that exist within IGSHPA. Areas of opportunities include, but are not limited to, training, membership, publications, and IGSHPA discussion board. Current platforms used for marketing IGSHPA are: Geo Outlook quarterly magazine, The Loop monthly newsletter, social media platforms, discussion board, and paid-for advertising in trade publications or websites. The committee will manage all marketing aspects of IGSHPA to the geothermal industry approved for work by the IGSHPA Board of Directors.

Many of this year’s conference participants have shared feedback and ideas on how the committee can move forward to grow the industry. That feedback will be key topics of discussion and action by the committee. Additional marketing committee members are welcome.

The board and committee would like to thank the previous marketing committee chairman, Brian Urlaub of Enertech, for his past leadership and guidance.

Membership Committee
All IGSHPA members had the opportunity to vote on the new board members for the second year as a member benefit. The membership committee would like to welcome Dominique Durbin and Mike Hadley to the board, along with board member at large Paul Bony.

The next membership renewal cycle is in June. Start watching your email and mail for information on how to renew!

Research Committee
Research committee has an in-person meeting on March 13. We discussed the ongoing GSHP related R&D at ASHRAE and DOE. We also discussed the recent Minnesota GSHP report and made a plan to develop a response to this report. Given the current low price of natural gas, active R&D becomes essential to make GSHP systems more economically competitive. Particularly, the committee identified two research topics that are essential with this regard, including (1) evaluating emerging ground heat exchanger designs, and (2) cost effective solutions for measuring performance of GSHP systems. Potential international collaborations for these two R&D topics were suggested by International members of the committee. The research track in this year’s IGSHPA conference is a success with 42 technical papers being presented. More than half of the presenters were from three countries—Canada, China, and Sweden. US was ranked the 4^th place (see the pie chart below). The top four research topics ranking based on the number of presented papers are modeling and simulation (13), fluids and materials (7), optimal design, control and operation (5), and thermal response testing (5). The research track provided a valuable opportunity to learn the worldwide development in GSHP related R&D and thus is highly desirable to continue in future conferences.

1. An updated Manual of Procedures (MOP) was voted on and approved.
2. Attached to the MOP is a basic organizational chart. Four primary objectives were identified for the Standards Committee. Each member was asked to serve in at least one area:
1. Continued standards development
1. An update to the grouting content (Section 2B) was introduced but has not yet been submitted for a vote.
2. A liaison to the Training Committee was identified to ensure that all training development agrees with current standards.
2. Code/Standard Oversight
1. NGWA was added to the list
2. A liaison to the Advocacy Committee was identified to ensure that code development and state regulations are being monitored for agreement with the current standards.
3. Special Projects
1. A standard ground-loop specification is being developed by a subcommittee of six members. The standard specification will serve as a starting point for system designers who are unfamiliar with GSHP systems.
4. Standards Transition
1. The tentative plan is for IGSHPA to be listed as a sponsor and co-developer of the ANSI/CSA C448 Bi-National Standard. If this happens, the IGSHPA Standards will be sunset and replaced by ANSI/CSA C448.
2. Representatives from CSA were invited to present and provide detail on CSA in general as well as the organization of the Technical Committee for ANSI/CSA C448, describe the standard revision cycle and to give an update on the current status of collaboration between CSA and IGSHPA. The status of approval for IGSHPA as a sponsor of the standard would be known within 4 weeks of the Denver conference.
3. Several members were identified to serve on a subcommittee to track and report on the transition of the IGSHPA Standards to ANSI/CSA C448.
3. A representative from McElroy was asked to present on sidewall fusion techniques, tools and fittings.

Board Member At Large-Paul Bony, Electric Gas Industry Association
Dealer/Contractor-Mike Hadley, Climate Control Heating & Cooling Co.
GHEX-Dominique Durbin, Durbin Enterprises, Inc.

These newly elected board members join the following board members to create the 2017 IGSHPA Board of Directors:

Architects/Engineers/Designers-Garen Ewbank, Ewbank Geo Testing, LLC
Board Member At Large-Chris Smith, BSN Consultant
Floating-Don Penn, Don Penn Consulting Engineer/IEG Ltd.
General Membership-Jack DiEnna, Geothermal National & International Initiative
Manufacturers-Michael Albertson, WaterFurnace International, Inc.
OSU Appointee-Dr. Dan Fisher, CEAT-OSU
Product Distributor-Cary Smith, Sound Geothermal
Utilities-Mark Faulkenberry, Western Farmers Electric Cooperative

A special thank you to the 2017 conference sponsors: Platinum- WaterFurnace International; Gold- Bosch Thermotechnology and Enertech Global; Silver- EarthLinked Technologies; Bronze- AWEB Supply, GeoMaster/GeoExcel, and NATE; and Media Partners- ACHR News, Engineered Systems, National Driller, National Ground Water Association, and World Wide Drilling Resources.