Green Build 2011

 The Green Build International Conference and Expo celebrated its 10th anniversary in Toronto, Ontario from October 4th - 7th. The event held a wide array of activities for various audience, including a exhibition hall with over 1,000 exhibitors and 28,000 attendees. There were also LEED workshops, education sessions, public speakers and summits covering a range of topics. This event is traditionally held in large cities in the United States and came to Canada for the first time this year.

This change of venue gave many Canadian companies the opportunity to showcase the renewable energy innovation happening in our backyards. Maritime Geothermal was one of the Canadian companies attending Green Build for the first time, and the results were encouraging.

The responses and interest gathered by Maritime Geothermal at Green Build was encouraging and has highlighted an increasingly noticeable trend that has been developing in the last 10 years or so. Instead of a sense of "swimming against the tide", there was a new attitude in the air. Instead of waylaying skeptical attendees, dispelling misinformation and eliminating the myths that surround geothermal technology, the staff at the Maritime Geothermal booth spent the majority of the expo engaging in meaningful conversations with individuals who were already well informed about the possibilities geothermal energy provided.

The geothermal heat pump may be the electric car of the HVAC industry. But like the electric car, as traditional fuel sources become more and more expensive, geothermal heat pumps keep gain a competitive edge. Instead of being the luxurious choice, they are becoming the economical choice. Instead of being shunned by builders they are being embraced as a standard item in new homes. The fact that geothermal is moving into mainstream renewable energy holds untold opportunities for this industry. The possibilities for marrying the technology with existing renewable energy is endless.