WorldWide Drilling Resource

Indiana Representative Learns More About Geothermal Industry Information Provided by Geo-Flo Products Corporation U.S. Representative of Indiana’s 9th District, Trey Hollingsworth visited the Geo-Flo plant in Bedford, Indiana, earli- er this year. While there, the state of the geothermal heat pump industry was discussed, as well as Geo-Flo's encour- agement to support H.R. Bill 1090. Intro- duced by Representative TomReed of New York, this bill would extend tax credits for investments in energy property with con- struction beginning before January 1, 2022, and include geothermal technology and other renewables which were left out the tax credit extension. Tom Wyer, company president, gave a brief presentation which included the history of Geo-Flo, which began production in 1988, as well as background on the geothermal industry and statistics to help Hollingsworth and his staff better understand how the geothermal heat pump industry compares to the overall heating, ven- tilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) industry, and U.S. manufacturing in general. Roughly 2000 people are employed as a result of the geothermal heat pump industry, either directly or indirectly, just in Indiana. “These are good manufacturing jobs, skilled HVAC installation technicians, and heavy equipment operators; jobs that cannot be exported,” stated Wyer. As an industry, geothermal heat pump technology has grown steadily for most of the past 30 years until around 2009-2010, when the “Great Recession” started affecting the industry. In 2008, under President Bush (who has geothermal in his Texas ranch home), tax credits were established to provide sup- port for energy-efficient technologies, including geothermal heat pumps. Th e omn i b u s b i l l p a s s e d b y Congress in December 2015, extended tax credits for the solar industry, but left out geothermal, giving solar technology an unfair advantage from a tax stand- point. H.R. 1090 provides tax equity. During a factory tour, a number of good discussions relating to Geo-Flo manufacturing and geothermal technol- ogy provided Hollingsworth and his staff with additional details. Geo-Flo guests watched as the CNC (computer numer- ically controlled) machines created brass fittings and adapters from brass bar stock Geo-Flo brings in, exclusively from mills in the U.S. “We very much enjoyed Representative Hollingsworth’s visit, and appreciate his time,” concluded Wyer. “Awareness of how the geothermal heat pump industry impacts jobs, energy, and the environment is good for business.” 23 WorldWide Drilling Resource ® NOVEMBER 2017 Open the Doorway to all the Event Photos during The Water Expo 2017. To see all the photos from this event, go to www.worldwidedrillingresource.com or click here. Feel free to download at will and print the photo(s) of your choice. Compliments of WorldWide Drilling Resource ® . Photos are copyrighted and released for personal use only - no commercial use permitted.