Solar panels power oil field

www.tcetoday.com
26/8/2009

Chevron is taking a new approach to raising steam to extract heavy crude oils in Coalinga, California: rather than burning gas, the company will use solar energy to raise the steam required, at least as long as the sun shines.

Chevron's partner in the project, California-based BrightSource Energy – a company Chevron has previously invested in – has just broken ground on the project to build a 29MW solar energy plant at Coalinga. The plant will consist of 7000 mirrors focusing sunlight on the top of a 323-foot (m) high tower to heat water and generate steam. Whereas in a normal solar energy plant this steam would drive turbines, here it will be channelled underground to help Chevron extract the heavy crudes.

Heavy oil extraction is potentially a very lucrative market for the company, BrightSource Energy says. The solar energy plant, scheduled to be completed at the end of next year, will be the first full-scale project to use BrightSource Energy's proprietary Luz Power Tower technology. The technology has to date been tested successfully at a 6MW demonstration plant at Negev, Israel.

BrightSource Energy is separately also planning to use the Luz Power Tower in a huge 400MW solar energy complex in California's Mojave Desert. The Ivanpah Solar Power Complex will be built in three phases. The first 100MW tranche is scheduled to begin construction in late 2009 and is due to be completed by late 2011. A second 100MW phase will begin construction roughly six months after the start of the first phase in late 2009, with the final phase of 200MW to follow after. Once completed, Ivanpah will nearly double the amount of solar thermal electricity produced today in the US, BrightSource Energy says.