Bold Business Logo
Search
Close this search box.

GlassPoint Solar Enhanced Oil Recovery: Using Solar Power to Drill for Oil

a photo of a solar panel sitting in front of the silhouette of an oil rig in connection to the topic of GlassPoint Solar enhanced oil recovery tech

GlassPoint Solar—a company with headquarters in Fremont, California—is set to partner with Aera Energy—a gas and oil producer—to put up the biggest solar energy project in the U.S. This integrated solar project will use innovative solar energy to power oilfield operations. With the GlassPoint Solar enhanced oil recovery tech that will be used in the Belridge Solar project, the companies are hoping to make efficient use of the power and reduce the overall carbon emission that the operation produces.

The site will be located in California at Belridge oilfield. According to the official company statement, the plant is expected to deliver the biggest peak output of energy from any solar plant in the state. Ben Bierman is the COO and acting CEO of GlassPoint. He stated that their partnership with Aera Energy reflects their commitment to innovation, as they are aware of the ever-growing need of oil-consuming customers all over the world. Their company’s solar steam tech was created in California and was perfected in the Oman desert oilfields. They are using six years of experience in Oman to drive this new California expansion. They will be putting everything they learned and achieved into this new endeavor.

GlassPoint Solar Enhanced Oil Recovery & The Belridge Solar Project

Solar energy is one of the most used renewable sources of energy and is very beneficial in helping the environment as it doesn’t cause any air or water pollution. It also doesn’t create greenhouse gases.

There are several solar power pros and cons. However, the advantages mostly outweigh the negatives. One of the biggest drawbacks of solar energy is that it isn’t as efficient since it can’t collect power during the night. However, as solar energy is free and has lower operating costs, it can easily be sustained.

The Belridge Solar project will have an 850-megawatt solar thermal facility producing steam at an annual rate of 12 million barrels. It will also have a 26.5 MWe photovoltaic facility to generate electricity. The steam from solar energy is expected to reduce the natural gas presently in use in oilfield operations. With this facility, the project to save around 376,000 metric tons of annual CO2 emissions, equivalent to the output of 80,000 cars.

Low-Cost Renewable Energy by 2020

According to GlassPoint, its GlassPoint Solar enhanced oil recovery tech will supply low-cost renewable energy for oil extraction operations. To extract the oil, steam is injected into the oil reservoir heating the oil before pumping to the surface. Both companies are expecting to break ground on the new power plant sometime in the first half of 2019. They aim to have the plant up and running by 2020 when it begins producing steam and energy.

Right now, GlassPoint is working on Miraah, which is a landmark project that they are doing together with the Petroleum Development Oman or PDO. Once done, this project will be able to create more than a gigawatt of peak thermal power. This fact makes it one of the biggest solar power plants anywhere in the world. The company established Oman as its regional HQ back in 2012. The biggest shareholder of the company is the Royal Dutch Shell and State General Reserve Fund (SGRF), which is the biggest sovereign wealth fund in Oman.

Don't miss out!

The Bold Wire delivers our latest global news, exclusive top stories, career
opportunities and more.

Thank you for subscribing!