The direction is clear if the timeline is not. The world is trying very hard to adopt renewable energy solutions and green energy alternatives for the power we need to live and work.

Cost of producing green energy has dropped

According to the Renewable Power Generation Costs report released in May 2019 by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), multiple sources of green energy can now compete on cost with oil, coal, and gas-fired power plants.

Renewable energy competing with fossil fuel-fired power

The cheapest source of renewable energy is hydroelectric power, averaging $0.05 per kilowatt hour (kWh). The average cost of building new power plants that use wind, solar, biomass, and geothermal energy is below $0.10/kWh. That puts these energy sources right in line with the $0.05/kWh to $0.15/kWh range of the cost to build oil and gas-fired power plants.

As the Director General of IRENA, Francesco La Camera, observed, “Renewable power is the backbone of any development that aims to be sustainable.”

The Novomet focus

Novomet has been committed to reducing power consumption in electrical submersible pumping (ESP) systems for years. This benefits operators by cutting the cost required to produce a barrel of oil. It has the added social benefit of reducing carbon emissions and alleviating pressure on power grids. In at least one instance in North America, Novomet technology has reduced power consumption to the point that power suppliers have been able to delay grid expansion, saving the power supply industry and taxpayers millions of dollars.

Beyond reducing the electricity we consume to produce oil, we are also committed to adapting our technologies to support renewable energy solutions. One of those green energy initiatives involves adapting ESP systems to pump hot water in geothermal wells.

Geothermal energy

Most power plants rely on steam to make storable and usable power. Steam drives a turbine that activates a generator to produce the electricity people need to live and work. Fossil fuels have traditionally been used to heat water to make the steam that drives this process.

Geothermal wells use hot water from subterranean reservoirs to produce the steam needed to generate electricity. The result is a renewable, green form of power that reduces the grams of carbon needed to produce a kilowatt hour of electricity.

Novomet ESP technology has been adapted to operate in the extreme high temperatures found in geothermal wells. Our high-temperature, high-flow Geyser geothermal pumping system provides the hot water needed to drive geothermal power plants. And it uses 25% less energy per cubic meter of water than competing pumps.