2026 Conference Proceedings | International Ground Source Heat Pump Association

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The 2026 IGSHPA Annual Conference was held April 13 to 15 at the Ameristar Casino in St. Charles, Missouri.

IGSHPA’s 5th annual conference of the new independent IGSHPA organization included 10 tracks and more than 55 speakers and panelists.* The exhibit hall was completely sold out, and a majority of the sponsorships were sold. There was a lot of excitement about the industry and IGSHPA as an organization, based upon discussions at the event. Below are links to the presentations from the conference.*

*All presentations represent the opinion of the presenters and do not represent any official position, opinion, or endorsement of any products or services by IGSHPA or its members. Not all presentations are listed below. Some presenters did not upload their presentations before the conference and are not included in the links below.

2026 Photo Album

2026 Annual Conference Video

Commercial Track

Improved Approach to Thermal Response Testing — Nathan Zenero, OXBO Energy

Below-Building Geothermal Projects in NY & NJ — Dan Sergison, P.E., Salas O’Brien

How to Capture Millions in ITC Benefits for Geothermal — and the Opportunities Most Projects Miss — Josh Howes, Walker Blue, LLC

Meeting the IRA PWA Requirements & other IRA topics — Jacob Goldman, Energy Tax Savers

ICC Mechanical, Energy, Green Construction & Performance Codes with CSA/IGSHPA 448 & 449 Ground-Source Heat Pump Standards — Richard Anderson, ICC

High Performing Controls for Ground Source Heat Pumps in Net-Zero Buildings — Chris Ruth, Integrated Facility Services

GSHP Project Profiles: Proof Positive of Quality and Value — Steve Kavanaugh, Professor Emeritus (Retired), University of Alabama and Energy Information Services

Predesign of Closed Loop Ground Heat Exchanger Systems — Terry Proffer, CGD and Emily Smith, PE of Major Geothermal

Delivering Renewable Energy Solutions in Urban Environments — Tony Amis, Endurant Energy

Influence of groundwater flow on the long-term thermal performance of a vertical closed loop GSHP system under cooling-dominated operation — Upasana Pandey, Prairie Research Institute, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Residential Track

Upstream Lease Products – GRECs — Daniel Sadik and Kelcy Kline, Upstream Lease

A Horizontally Drilled Tube in Tube Geothermal Innovation — Greg Nortz, P.E., Otisco Engineering

ICC Mechanical, Energy, Green Construction & Performance CodesWith CSA/IGSHPA 448 & 449 Ground-Source Heat Pump Standards — Richard Anderson, ICC

Modern Residential GSHP Design Software — Ryan Carda, Midwest Geothermal

Unlocking Residential Geothermal At Scale — Donald Saelinger, Dandelion

Assessment of Building Envelope and Ground Source Heat Pump Synergies Using GeoWISE — Xiaobing Liu, Ph.D., Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Ground Heat Exchanger (GHX) Track

Lessons in Urban Drilling Execution and Subsurface Collaboration — Steven Hinterneder, P.E., Phoenix Foundation Company

Colorado’s Geothermal Regulatory Framework — Kevin Donegan, Colorado Division of Water Resources

Best Practices for Installing Borefields Under Buildings — Kate Cheng, Geosource Energy

CSA-ANSI-IGSHPA C448 2025 Updates: Impact to Geothermal Projects — Stan Reitsma, Geosource Energy

Industry (updates and trends) Track

Standards Updates: CSA/ANSI/IGSHPA and C448CSA/ANSI C449 — Jeff Hammond of IGSHPA and Mark Metzner of Endurant

Advancing GSHP in NYS — Christine Hoffer, NY-GEO

A Practical Training Pathway to Geothermal Adoption — Albert R. Wallace, Energy Environmental Corporation

District/Institutional Track

Commercial Ground Source Heat Pump Horizontal Loop Field Installations Using Agricultural Tile Plows on Air Force Airfields — Col Paul Fredin, 86th Civil Engineer Group

The Tesla of Community Sports Complexes — John Rathbone, Rathco ENG

Ambient Temperature Loop – Overview and IAPMO Codes and Standards for GSHP Systems — Cary Smith, Sound Grothermal Corporation

Shared Ground Loops & Ambient Heat Networks from Policy to Practice & Investment Confidence — Ken Gordon, Ground Source Heat Pumps Ltd

Decarbonizing the Campus Quad: Phased Implementation of a District-Scale GeoExchange Network at West Chester University — Neal Babcock, PE, Alderson Engineering

Electric kWh Impact due to Hybrid Geo Plants: Case Study — Ajay Bhargava, PE; Philip Wentz, PE; Eric Poettker, PE – McClure Engineering

Oakridge Energy Geoexchange System at Oakridge Park — Scott Emery, P.E. of FVB Energy Inc.; Jeff Quibell, P.Eng of Falcon Engineering

Sales/Marketing Track

Selling Geothermal without the Tax Credit — Bill Buschur, Total Green Mfg. Corp.

Demand Driven: Building the Market That Builds the Workforce — Lee Eric Smith, ReGeneSys

Leveraging Geothermal Solutions and Tax Incentives — Doug Kolker and Steven Barnes, Wipfli Advisory

Tackling Geothermal Problem #1: Removing the Cost Barrier — Willem Lange, WaterFurnace

Utility Track

GSHP vs ASHP vs CCHP in Sizing, Performance and Peak Demand Part 2 — Bob Brown, WaterFurnace

Your Neighbor’s Waste Heat Is Your Treasure! — Brian Urlaub, Salas O’Brien

Third-Party Loop Ownership: A Dynamic Opportunity for Utilities to Develop A Stronger Grid! — Jack DiEnna, Executive Director, The Geothermal National & International Initiative

GSHP Impacts: Effects On Peak Demand And Margins With Large Scale Utility Deployment — Boyd Lee of Outside the Box Geo and Jeremiah Strode of GeoExchange

Three Methods to Value GHPs as a Grid Asset — Kevin Kitz, KitzWorks LLC

Product Showcase Track

The Impact Geothermal Grout Has on System Install Cost — Tyler Harbeck, GeoPro

The Data Gap Holding Thermal Networks Back — Erich Ryan, Jouler

GSHP Innovations — Rick Clemenzi, PE, Geothermal Design Center

What do Formula 1 and a Ground Source Heat Pump System have in Common? — Geoff Ellison, Envirohire

Bosch Product Portfolio: Geothermal — Jon Mueller, SFE Enterprises

Multi-therme™: A Shallow Ground Heat Exchange System — Richard A. Gordon, P.E., Gordon and Associates

Geo 101 Track

Geothermal Exchange Boreholes vs. Boreholes for Water Wells — Robert Meyer and Brock Yordy of The Geothermal Drillers Association

How does a geothermal heat pump work? — Jim Cusack

GSHP Troubleshooting — Jeff Hurst, Connor Co

Plenary & Keynotes Track

KEYNOTE: Industry Updates — Ryan Dougherty, GeoExchange (Ryan’s presentation did not include slides)

KEYNOTE: Serenbe’s Path to Development — Steve Nygren, Serenbe

Opening Comments

Awards Ceremony