Press
What the Institute is, in one paragraph.
The McDonough Institute activates fifty years of collaborative work in service of the next generations. It is the public face of The William McDonough Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, based in Charlottesville, Virginia.
This chapter
The current work, accurately described
The Institute's current chapter concerns the energy question of the intelligence age. Its question is whether the answer is not out, but in: the Earth is warm all the way through, and that warmth is available at night, in winter, in a cloud, and in a calm.
The Institute frames the argument, works to render it visible in one built place, and convenes the people who hold the drilling, the land, the capital, and the demand. It does not drill, build, or operate. No partner, funder, site, or tenant is confirmed publicly until it has been agreed in writing.
Figures the Institute cites about energy demand come from the International Energy Agency's Energy and AI, 2025, and figures about geothermal capacity from the U.S. Department of Energy's Pathways to Commercial Liftoff: Next-Generation Geothermal Power.
Enquiries
Interviews, images, and fact checks
Write to rpetersen@mcdonough.institute or use the form. Approved photography and diagram files, with credits, are provided on request. The Institute is glad to check a quote or a date before publication.