The global oil business partnered with NextEra Energy to develop on-site solar power to run its refinery.
Phillips 66, a global oil refiner, announced it has partnered with NextEra Energy to construct a solar facility to power its Rodeo, California refinery.
The solar facility is designed to provide 30.2 MW of power generation capacity and is expected to become operational in early 2025. The project will be comprised of more than 70,000 solar panels and is expected to produce 60,000 MWh of electricity annually.
Phillips 66 is expected to reduce its grid power demand by about 50% due to the on-site solar resource. This is critical for Phillips 66, as electric utility Pacific Gas & Electric has among the highest industrial electricity rates in the nation.
The project is developed on 88 acres of land owned by Phillips 66, close to a fuels facility in the San Francisco Bay area. The 30.2 MW solar facility will help the refinery cut down its carbon dioxide emissions an estimated 33,000 metric tons per year.
The Phillips 66 facility has ceased crude oil processing and has shifted its focus to “renewable diesel” and “sustainable aviation fuels.” Renewable diesel is a fuel made from fats and oils such as soybean oil or canola oil, and serves as a replacement or a mix-in with traditional fossil-based diesel. Sustainable aviation fuels similarly is made from non-petroleum feedstocks such as food and yard waste portion of municipal solid waste, woody biomass, fats, greases and oils, and other feedstocks.
While these fuel methods reduce reliance on fossil fuels, they do emit carbon dioxide into the atmosphere when burned. An NREL study found shows renewable diesel reduces carbon intensity on average by 65% when compared with petroleum diesel.
The facility currently produces nearly 50,000 barrels refined fuel per day.
Businesses and industry are finding new ways to decarbonize their operations and have more reliable and affordable energy with solar. In Spain, small-scale beer brewers are adopting PV and solar thermal on-site, and in Texas an oil pipeline manager Buckeye Partners invested in a 500,000 panel solar project.
