Chevron throws a quick slant to green energy. HUT, HUT!!!
Is Chevron, which announced yesterday that it has begun testing solar panels at an old California refinery site, positioning itself to become a “pan-energy” company like its competitor BP?
Not quite, Chevron’s Vice President of Emerging Energy Jerry Lomax tells G.E.R., but “Project Brightfield” does signal an interesting energy strategy nonetheless.
For Chevron, the California oil and gas major, going green is part of a mostly internal process that seeks improve the company’s efficiencies in its oil and gas fields and, downstream, operating its energy-hungry refineries.
Lomax explains:
We are looking for technology that we can integrate into our different operations, refineries or oil and gas fields and support our core oil and gas businesses.
This contrasts with BP, which had sought develop and sell solar and wind powered electricity before gradually pulling back from the strategy after Tony Hayward took over as chief executive.
Now, Hayward has refocussed investments on the company’s core oil and gas business, though BP still has considerable investments in renewables.
Chevron’s Bakersfield facility will host a three-year test of six different thin-film solar photovoltaic panels and a crystalline silicon technology, dubbed Project Brightfield. The company will eventually select one or more of the panels to power facilities across their energy supply chain.
The tests are being overseen by Chevron Technology Ventures, the unit within the oil and gas company in charge of looking for and evaluating new technologies, including renewable technologies.
Unlike Exxon Mobil or Royal Dutch Shell, which have pegged their renewable energy policy on biofuels, the test, announced yesterday, underscored Chevron’s bent for solar power.
Lomax said the company “is very interested in solar” and sees opportunities at a time when the price of solar technology is becoming competitive.
The company is also testing concentrating photovoltaic (CPV) technology at a mine in New Mexico and solar steam technology in Central California.
Lomax added that while solar is one focus, the company is also invested in wind generation and is the world’s largest operator of geothermal generation.
Image: Courtesy Jeffness, Wikimedia Commons