Project Brightfield, a demo of next-generation solar energy technologies in Bakersfield, Calif., has been started by Chevron Corp. The project will evaluate seven emerging photovoltaic (PV) technologies to help determine the best RE application at other Chevron facilities.
"By bringing together seven emerging solar technologies, Project Brightfield represents one of the most comprehensive solar energy tests of its kind and is an innovative approach to evaluating new technologies," said Des King, president of Chevron Technology Ventures, the division of Chevron U.S.A. Inc. that identifies, evaluates and demonstrates emerging technologies. "Testing competing technologies side by side means that we can better understand their potential application at other Chevron facilities."
The 7,700 solar panels on the 8-acre site will generate approximately 740 kW of electricity. The produced power will be directed to the local utility grid as well as to Chevron’s oil production operations at the Kern River Field.
The companies demonstrating thin-film technologies are Abound Solar, MiaSolé, Schüco, Solar Frontier, Sharp, and Solibro, while the crystalline-silicon PV technology is provided by Innovalight. Each solar company can access data about its technology, find out how well it performs in various conditions and compare it against a benchmark solar technology – a brand of commercially available solar PV technology – that has also been installed on the site.
This is the company’s second project in an effort to integrate RE into its operations with the first being a wind farm on a former Texaco refinery site in Wyoming using 11 wind turbines to generate 16.5 MW of power. Further plans to incorporate RE are underway with a CSP installation at a facility in New Mexico, expected to be complete by the end of the year.
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