Platform Retrofit for Ocean Geothermal, (PRO-Geo) Energy and Water Desalination Project

The Platform Retrofit for Ocean Geothermal, or PRO-Geo, energy and
water desalination team at UC Berkeley is a graduate student-run
project that seeks qualified students to join our group. Offshore oil
platform decommissioning is currently on the rise, and is significantly
environmentally and financially burdensome. Over the past year, we
have developed an innovative technology to retrofit offshore oil
platforms into geothermal power plants that also have the capability of
water desalination. This project, started as a collaboration between
Haas School of Business and Engineering graduate students and has begun to grow to include other disciplines in Law, Public Policy and ESPM (Environmental Science Policy and Management). Along
with our technology we are hoping to develop business and policy
strategies to expand our work to various global markets and potential
marine-based geothermal locations.

Potential impact:

To provide efficient energy from a novel way of harnessing oceanic geothermal reservoirs by converting decommissioned oil platforms into clean energy-producing power plants that have the potential of creating desalinized water as a by-product.

Required resources:

1. Total project needs: $40,000