LNPK 156 Geothermal Coalition: Regional Labor Market Assessment

Abstract

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Community Geothermal Heating and Cooling Design and Deployment initiative is providing $13 million in grant funding to 11 communities in ten states to design and deploy district geothermal energy solutions nationwide, create workforce training, and address environmental justice concerns.

One of the 11 communities is the LNPK 156 Geothermal Coalition, based in Duluth, Minnesota, and named for the city’s Lincoln Park neighborhood (and the neighborhood’s census tract code of 156). The coalition is proposing a district geothermal system that transfers heat from the 95-degree effluent of the regional wastewater treatment plant located in Lincoln Park and uses heat pumps to increase the temperature to approximately 130 degrees to pipe to a newly created neighborhood energy district, along with connecting to the existing downtown district energy system.

The City of Duluth contacted with the Bureau of Business and Economic Research (BBER), an entity of the University of Minnesota Duluth’s Labovitz School of Business and Economics, to conduct a regional labor market assessment for the grant.

The BBER research team identified 25 geothermal and energy efficiency-related (GEER) occupations as the focus of this analysis, using a keyword search of national online job postings. Some of the GEER occupations with the greatest demand (i.e., the most unique postings nationally) were maintenance and repair workers; heating, air conditioning, refrigeration mechanics/installers; helpers—installation, maintenance, and repair workers; and plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters.