Environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria, driven by socially conscious investors and the public have led several oil and gas and power companies to add non-fossil fuel energy sources, such as solar and wind, to their portfolios.  These technologies while easy to deploy are non-dispatchable technologies, the net result is that we are trapped in a fossil-fuel economy.  Geothermal a baseload, flexible, CO2 free, clean energy is therefore a future necessity for every developed and emerging economy. Yet, presently incentives and tax breaks are not sufficient to provide the impetus for companies to invest in this technology, despite the grid-stabilizing benefits this technology brings.  Cheap natural gas remains a significant barrier to the successful re-structuring and decarbonization of our energy system.

This presentation examines how current policies for decarbonization are not sufficient in driving the necessary changes to a future decentralized and decarbonized economy.  An economic analysis looking at the Levelised Cost of Electricity (LCOE) of common energy technologies and their carbon abatement potential, reveals policy biases that have negatively impacted investment in geothermal concepts.  Policy bias has favored wind, solar, battery storage, and CCUS, but these technologies alone will not allow us to overhaul our energy systems and neither will they allow developing economies to develop, at the pace their people demand. 

Looking to the future, new generation baseload geothermal energy concepts such as deep, supercritical closed loop systems may present sufficiently attractive economic, business and technological conditions to spur engagement and investment by oil and gas companies.  Analysis reveals that in scenarios where gas or coal power plants are replaced, both existing and emerging geothermal technologies could provide an effective and eloquent power solution for companies looking to develop a low-carbon energy strategy, while leveraging their existing infrastructure, workforce, and core competencies.  Critical to the debate of the future role of geothermal energy in the USA today is the engagement of the oil and gas industry .

If oil and gas companies were to pivot their geological and engineering resources into geothermal technologies they could find themselves in a unique and compelling position whereby they could easily emerge as the leaders in the future of baseload energy development and production.  The unique position the oil and gas industry has in this field is that these companies have the know-how and resources (intellectual property, workforce, infrastructure) that have been developed over the last century.  A simple pivot and re-calibration could be rapidly completed to leverage the companies knowledge towards the exploration of heat in place of fossil fuels.


Can Geothermal Energy Play a Competitive Role for Companies Pursuing a Low-Carbon Energy Strategy in the Usa Today?

Division / Sponsor:
Advanced Energy Systems Division (AESD) & Solar Energy Division (SED)

Paper Proceedings: https://asmedigitalcollection.asme.org/ES/ES2020/volume/83631

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