TTGeo Professional Associate Network

President, Sustainable Solutions: Benoit is a geologist by training (BS. 1970, MS 1972) who has worked primarily in the geothermal industry since 1974.  He is the primary author or coauthor on over 60 publications on all aspects of geothermal exploration, resource development and management and continues to actively publish papers, primarily on Nevada geothermal resources.  His geothermal expertise ranges from preliminary greenfields exploration to the day to day management of declining resources and includes management of drilling projects ranging from a wide variety of shallow temperature gradient holes to slim holes and large diameter high-temperature production and injection wells.  He has extensive international experience in North America, Central America, South America, and Africa and is the principal in Sustainable Solutions, a consulting company he founded in 2000.  Through Sustainable Solutions he has also advised the U. S. Department of Energy on various geothermal projects for the past 17 years.  ergy audits provide a detailed analysis of your business's energy usage. We identify energy savings opportunities to reduce your energy consumption and lower your energy bills. Improve your business's energy efficiency with our energy audits.

 Bona is a geologist by training (MSc. equivalent, 1985) with over 30 years of activity in geothermal exploration and development projects in several countries, such as: Argentina, Bolivia, Canada, Chile, Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Greece, Honduras, Italy, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Turkey and Zambia. Bona is based in Managua, Nicaragua, and has spent a significant part of his professional career in Latin American working on geothermal projects, developing an in-depth and broad knowledge of technical, institutional, regulatory, environmental, social and financial aspects of geothermal projects in Central and South American countries.  Bona is experienced in geological, geochemical, geophysical, and geo-structural investigations, well-site geology, hydrothermal mineralogy, modeling and assessment of geothermal resources through integrated interpretation of surface exploration and drilling data. He also has expertise in regulatory and environmental compliance, project planning, cost estimate and financing issues of geothermal exploration and development programs. Subordinate experience in other sectors, such as: mineral exploration, environmental assessment, hydrogeology, and engineering geology. Other skills include good knowledge of power generation systems, renewable energy sources, and climate change challenges with associated global issues. 

 Brian is a geologist by training (B.Sc. 1983, M.Sc. 1987, Ph.D. 1994) and is currently a Professor of Geology at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire specializing in sedimentation and tectonics, stratigraphy, field geology, economic resource evaluation, and structural analysis. For more than 30 years, his research projects have taken him to British Columbia, the United States (Washington, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Nevada, Wisconsin), Baja Mexico, Honduras, Africa and Argentina. He has authored, or co-authored, 36 publications, 68 peer-reviewed publications and received grants totaling $2,256,690, as well as being the recipient of professional recognition for teaching and research excellence. Brian is also the principal in Precision GeoSolutions, established in 2010, and applies his expertise in structural, strategic and economic geology to national and international research projects.   

 Mark is a chemical engineer by education (1972 BS, 1975 MS) and has been a California licensed Petroleum Engineer since 1982.   He has been a geothermal and Oil and Gas reservoir, production and operations engineer since 1977 working for geothermal subsidiaries of Major Oil and Gas companies and independent geothermal power companies and as a consultant to a major oil company.  In these positions Mark was the wellfield development/ reservoir engineer for vapor and liquid dominated reservoirs, implemented a geothermal project distributed control system, the first of its kind in the World, and prepared a myriad of economic evaluations for US and International projects.  In addition to having been the Owner’s engineer for the first BOOT geothermal project in Costa Rica, as the Owner’s reservoir engineer on a Nevada geothermal project, he proposed an injection augmentation program into a recently developed surface manifestation that raised the existing reservoir pressure to above initial conditions maintaining nameplate output  He is intimately familiar with geothermal field and power plant design, operations and maintenance including piping design, turbine mods, instrumentation and controls, and corrosion prevention with a strong working knowledge of ASME B31.3, B31.2, and other pertinent codes and standards.  Currently Mark is a consulting engineer to the geothermal industry. 

   Darrell Cotterill, BSc., P.Geol, has over 28 years’ experience within the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin in Alberta evaluating hydrocarbon prospects, metallic and industrial mineral deposits and subsurface waste disposal sites. Darrell has conducted numerous regional and local scale studies that include clastic, carbonate, and evaporite successions that focus on both hydrocarbon and mineral exploration. These studies include field-based surficial mapping and extensive subsurface mapping. Detailed outcrop and core description were two principle components within the broad-based geological studies. Metallic and Industrial mineral projects include exploring for rare-earth’s, frac sand, gypsum, salt, diamonds, lithium and industrial sources of aggregate. These studies comprised of desk-based compilations, permit acquisition, field operations (surface sampling, mapping and drilling) and remote sensing (magnetic surveys).  Hydrocarbon and subsurface waste disposal related studies include both regional and reservoir scale studies within all three of Alberta’s oil sand regions with the main focus being the largest Athabasca Oil Sands deposit. As a consultant, duties encompassed regional subsurface mapping, reservoir characterization, well planning and supervision (vertical and horizontal wells). Darrell’s early career focused on the geological supervision of wells in Alberta, Saskatchewan and British Columbia.