In news that is both good and unsettling, Chevron has decided to add a slightly green tinge to their day-to-day dirty brown operations. How? By installing 7,700 solar panels generating about 740 kilowatts of electricity – to help power their oil refineries.
“By bringing together seven emerging solar technologies, Project Brightfield represents one of the most comprehensive solar energy tests of its kind and is an innovative approach to evaluating new technologies,” said Des King, president of Chevron Technology Ventures.
The power generated by the solar system at the site will be deployed to the local utility grid as well as to Chevron’s oil production complex at the company’s Kern River Field.
“Testing competing technologies side by side means that we can better understand their potential application at other Chevron facilities,” King said. Chevron Tech Ventures is the unit of Chevron U.S.A. Inc. that identifies, evaluates and demonstrates emerging technologies.
So is this an attempt to save money? Or is the oil giant actually trying to do it’s part?
“Chevron is mostly hedging its bets with these projects,” said Severin Borenstein, director of the Berkeley-based University of California Energy Institute. “The company sees it’s quite possible that the energy market might move away from fossil fuels.”
