29-08-01 Texaco burns a barrel of oil for every three it brings out of the ground from its Bakersfield, California, oil field, the company's technology chief says. But a project to begin this fall will use technology developed by a Michigan company to reduce that ratio by harnessing the power of the sun.
A 4- to 5-acre (1.6- to 2-hectare) array of thin solar panels is being erected at Texaco's Kern River oil field near Bakersfield. The panels, developed by Troy-based Energy Conversion Devices, convert sunlight into electricity. Their use will allow the oil company to use electricity instead of fossil fuels to power steam generators necessary for drilling operations. Texaco owns a 20 % interest in ECD. By using the power generated by the photovoltaic panels, Texaco says it will save money and reduce emissions.
"From a cost perspective, it's a driver. Environmentally, the less of our own heavy hydrocarbons we burn the better," said Jim Metzger, vice president and chief technology officer at Texaco. "Literally, over the life of the project it will save tons in terms of carbon dioxide and nitric oxide emissions," said Tom Neslage, senior vice president sales and marketing at ECD.

The array will use 9,000 panels, each 18 feet (five meters) long and 14 inches (36 centimetres) wide. Together, they will generate 400 MW of power, about enough to power 500 homes, Neslage said. The irony of an oil company moving toward solar power is not lost on one environmental advocacy group.
"It shows solar power is finally coming of age when even Texaco is using it," said Daniel Becker, director of global warming and energy programs at the Sierra Club. "We look forward to the day when we can cut out oil entirely and get more of our energy from the sun," Becker said.
The project is estimated to cost about $ 8 mm, with roughly half the cost picked up by the state of California. Metzger said there is no way to accurately estimate any cost savings for the consumer just yet, since the current project is isolated to one oil field. The potential, he said, is there for some savings should solar power be more widely used. "Obviously, at some point in time if you can reduce the cost of raw materials in a process, you would hope you'll see pump prices go down," Metzger said.

Texaco is using the same panel to partially power five of its filling stations in the United States, South America, Central America, and Great Britain. The pilot program is aimed at testing how well solar power works to save energy costs related to running a retail operation, and if the panels can be integrated into the overall design of the service stations.