power electronics

Exploring Colorado’s untapped geothermal energy potential

Charles Ferrer — Tue, 21 Oct 2025 15:49:22 +0000

Exploring Colorado’s untapped geothermal energy potential Charles Ferrer Tue, 10/21/2025 - 09:49

Charles Ferrer

Professor Bri-Mathias Hodge

A major question looms over Colorado’s energy future: why does geothermal energy — a natural renewable resource — remain virtually untapped?

Professor Bri-Mathias Hodge, based in the Department of Electrical, Computer & Energy Engineering, along with Assistant Teaching Professor Shae Frydenlund from the Center for Asian Studies, will examine the technological and social barriers that have held back geothermal development in Colorado.

Geothermal energy comes from the natural heat stored beneath the Earth’s surface. It’s harnessed by tapping underground reservoirs of steam or hot water to produce electricity or provide direct heating.

Colorado is home to significant geothermal areas including the areas of Mount Princeton Hot Springs, Waunita Hot Springs and the San Luis Valley — yet no geothermal power plants currently operate in the state. That could soon change, thanks to growing collaboration among researchers, energy companies and policymakers.

“We know there is an abundant amount of geothermal energy potential in our state,” said Hodge, who brings two decades of experience in renewable energy integration and power systems simulation. “What we need is a better understanding of the social, economic and regulatory factors that influence its development.”

Bridging technology and community

Assistant Teaching Professor Shae Frydenlund

Frydenlund’s work with Indigenous communities in Indonesia, some of whom oppose geothermal projects due to environmental justice concerns, sparked an interdisciplinary collaboration with Hodge.

“I became very interested in bringing together physical science and social science perspectives,” Frydenlund said, “and to understand why a place as geothermal-rich as Colorado hasn’t tapped into this natural resource.”

Her research, together with Geography Professor Emily Yeh, revealed that struggles over geothermal projects emerge in and through the politics of indigeneity, land tenure and uneven development.

“There are concerns over land rights, sacred territories, livelihoods and environmental justice,” she said. “We need to bring those perspectives as we think about using geothermal here.”

To capture both the human and technical sides of geothermal development, the ̽��Ƶ team will combine tools, such as power systems modeling, spatial statistics and GIS mapping along with community forums, surveys and interviews. Gaining community input will be integral for this project.

One of their main goals is to create an interactive map tool of Colorado showing potential geothermal sites, layered with data on social and technological factors.

“Just because an area has strong potential doesn’t mean it’s a good place to develop geothermal energy,” Frydenlund said. “If it’s not culturally appropriate or desired by the community, resources can be wasted and projects can fail.”

The issue isn't unique to Colorado.

“We’ve seen this already in the U.S.," Hodge said. "Hawaii has been a leader in decarbonization goals and has great geothermal resources. Yet, there’s very little being developed there because you have to be mindful of the traditions in Hawaiian culture.”

The planning phase for the project includes three major steps: campus-wide town halls to connect with geothermal experts, identifying industry and community partners across the state and gathering preliminary data through stakeholder engagement. Between January and March 2026, Frydenlund will conduct fieldwork at six sites across Colorado, including Steamboat Springs, Buena Vista and Sterling Ranch in the South Metro area.

Building toward carbon neutrality

Geothermal exploration speaks directly to ̽��Ƶ’s goal of carbon neutrality by 2050 and the Western Governors Association’s Heat Beneath Our Feet initiative, which announced $7.7 million in funding in May 2024 to advance geothermal technology in Colorado.

Geothermal technologies can operate at multiple scales from single buildings to community thermal networks to large-scale power generation.

“What’s really interesting from a power systems standpoint is that geothermal affects not only electricity supply, but also demand,” Hodge said. “If ground-source heat pumps became widespread, Colorado’s power grid could shift from a summer to a winter peak system.”

However, these technological advances alone can’t drive an increased transition to geothermal.

“Understanding the intimate relationships that people have with land and with energy and with each other will make for a much richer picture of what kind of future geothermal energy has in this state,” Frydenlund said.

The project is funded by a Research & Innovation Office New Frontiers Grant.

A major question looms over Colorado’s energy future: why does geothermal energy, a renewable resource, remain virtually untapped? ̽��Ƶ researchers will examine the technological and social barriers that have held back geothermal development in the state.

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Geothermal power station (Credit: Adobe)

Power electronics researchers awarded $1.5M to advance energy technologies

Charles Ferrer — Thu, 11 Sep 2025 19:37:50 +0000

Power electronics researchers awarded $1.5M to advance energy technologies Charles Ferrer Thu, 09/11/2025 - 13:37

Charles Ferrer

Luca Corradini

Imagine a future where electric vehicle charging stations or AI data center power supply systems can be built like LEGO bricks — small, stackable units that can expand as demand grows.

Luca Corradini, associate professor in the Department of Electrical, Computer and Energy Engineering, is embarking on such a project at the University of Colorado Boulder, thanks to a $1.5 million award from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E).

“This research serves as an excellent example of the crucial importance and versatility of power electronics in today’s rapidly evolving energy technology landscape,” said Corradini. “With these innovations, industries could adopt new energy conversion solutions while making power grids more resilient, flexible and affordable.”

At its core, the project will design a Universal AC-DC Electrical Power Mover (UPM) to convert electricity from one form to another — alternating current (AC), which powers our homes and businesses, into direct current (DC), the type needed for things like fast EV charging, storing energy from solar panels or powering large AI data centers. Unlike today’s technologies, the UPM is both modular and versatile.

“We’re designing the UPM as a compact ‘brick’ that can connect directly to other identical bricks just like LEGOs,” Corradini said, who is also a faculty member at the Colorado Power Electronics Center (CoPEC). “Companies can start small and scale up their systems as needed, without a complete redesign.”

This stackable design not only simplifies installation but also allows systems to connect seamlessly to different kinds of power grids, whether lower voltage single-phase systems used in homes, or three-phase power utilized on long-distance high tension lines. Flexibility across electric grids is especially important in the United States since grid connections vary widely across regions.

Traditional power transformers, essential devices that convert voltage levels for safe and efficient electricity use, have been around for more than a century. More modern solid-state transformers are beginning to replace them, but they remain limited in their versatility and scalability.

Corradini, along with Distinguished Professor Dragan Maksimovic who is collaborating on the project, is working to break through those barriers. The UPM’s modularity and reconfigurable design could reduce costs across design, manufacturing, deployment and maintenance stages, while also opening new possibilities for energy systems.

Promising applications include EV fast charging stations, which today require costly, large-scale infrastructure, as well as large AI data centers, whose tremendous growth in electricity demand calls for scalable power solutions.

The system’s bi-directional capability also means energy could flow both ways: from the grid to vehicles or from sources like solar panels back into the grid. That could prove especially valuable in rural or poorly served areas, where additional energy support is needed.

In partnership with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the researchers and graduate students will leverage the ARPA-E funding for extensive prototyping, lab equipment and technology-to-market efforts, including patent development and industry outreach.

Luca Corradini, associate professor in the Department of Electrical, Computer and Energy Engineering, is advancing energy technologies at ̽��Ƶ thanks to a $1.5 million award from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy.

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Maksimovic wins two IEEE awards for power electronics contributions

Anonymous — Wed, 24 Aug 2022 20:59:22 +0000

Maksimovic wins two IEEE awards for power electronics contributions Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 08/24/2022 - 14:59

Emily Adams

Maksimovic (standing) discusses a project with a graduate student in the power electronics lab.

Professor Dragan Maksimovic has received two prestigious awards from IEEE, one of the leading professional organizations for the engineering and technology community worldwide.

The 2023 IEEE William E. Newell Power Electronics Award honors Maksimovic for outstanding contributions to the advancement of power electronics, specifically for his work in “digital control, modeling and topologies of switched-mode power supplies.”

The 2022 PELS R. David Middlebrook Achievement Award recognizes his contributions to modeling and analysis of digitally controlled power converters.

“These awards are very well-deserved,” said Department Chair Chris Myers. “Dragan is a leader in power electronics – both at ̽��Ƶ and beyond – so I’m thrilled to see him recognized by his peers.”

Maksimovic is the co-founder of the Colorado Power Electronics Center and the co-director of engineering workforce development for ASPIRE, a multi-institutional research center focused on sustainable and equitable electrification across transportation industries. A fellow of IEEE, Maksimovic has published over 300 papers in journals and at professional conferences and holds over 30 U.S. patents.

̽��Ƶ the IEEE Awards Program

Since 1917, the IEEE Awards Program has paid tribute to technical professionals whose exceptional achievements and outstanding contributions have made a lasting impact on technology, society, the engineering profession, and humanity. Recipients of IEEE-level Awards are recognized as the most influential members in their chosen field.

Learn more about the awards program

Former professor also honored

Professor Emeritus Ewald Fuchs (PhDElEngr’70) was also honored by IEEE with the Richard Harold Kaufmann Award “for contributions to power quality in power system operation, electric machines, renewable energy, and drives.”

Professor Dragan Maksimovic has received two prestigious awards from IEEE, one of the leading professional organizations for the engineering and technology community worldwide.

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