It’s a little hard to wrap your head around this one, but global oil giant Chevron (yes, that Chevron) has just announced plans to install a solar power system at the Kern River oil field in California. This ain’t no small potatoes, either. All together, Kern River is the fifth largest oil field in the U.S. and Chevron’s solar array will consist of 7, 700 solar panels, according to Reuters. The system is designed to generate 740 kilowatts of electricity to run Chevron’s oil pumps and pipelines at the field.
The Kern River solar array is just one piece of a $2 billion investment Chevron plans for solar and alternative energy. That’s a tidy little chunk of the oil company’s change, which seems to indicate that the company sees the writing on the wall for fossil fuels. Not that oil will disappear, just that the potential returns from solar power and other alternative energy in the retail market are starting to look mighty attractive. Once again, follow the money…