The Misplaced Hills oil area in California’s San Joaquin Valley has been producing oil since 1910, with important untapped reserves. Operators plan to proceed producing oil for a few years to come back, with the purpose of offering dependable, reasonably priced, and constantly clear vitality to California prospects.
Earlier than the photo voltaic venture, Misplaced Hills, which operates as a waterflood, imported all of its energy from the native utility. {The electrical} vitality load, which is often secure all through the day and all year long, is principally pushed by artificial-lift techniques, fluid-processing amenities, and waterflood injection pumps. Confronted with larger utility vitality payments and tightening greenhouse-gas (GHG) emission laws, the operator launched into a venture to determine options to cut back its vitality prices and decrease its carbon footprint.
After evaluating numerous options to self-generation, together with photo voltaic, wind, and numerous gas-fired techniques, the choice was made to construct a photo voltaic photovoltaic (PV) plant. That is probably the most economical and technically possible possibility. It additionally reduces GHG emissions and creates state Low Carbon Gasoline Customary (LCFS) credit, which can assist California meet its purpose of decreasing the carbon depth of its transportation gasoline pool by 20%. in 2030.
This paper outlines one of many first efforts by a serious oil and fuel firm to construct a web exporting, behind-the-meter photo voltaic PV plant to decrease working prices and carbon depth on a big, mature oil and fuel fields. The 29 MWAC (35 MWDC) The Misplaced Hills photo voltaic plant in Misplaced Hills, California, which was commissioned in April 2020, covers roughly 220 hectares of land adjoining to the oil area and is designed to offer greater than 1.4 billion kW- hr of photo voltaic vitality for 20 years in oil area and fuel area manufacturing and processing amenities. Upgrades to the farm’s electrical infrastructure additionally embody new expertise to cut back the danger of sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) emissions, one other potent greenhouse fuel (GHG).
Earlier than photo voltaic, the Misplaced Hills area imported all of its electrical energy from the grid. With the introduction of the Modern Crude Program as a part of California’s Low Carbon Gasoline Customary (LCFS) and the revisions to the California Public Utilities Fee Web Vitality Metering program, Misplaced Hills is offered with a novel alternative to cut back imported prices. in electrical energy, carbon depth, whereas additionally producing LCFS credit. The plant is designed to function the farm through the day and export extra electrical energy to the grid to assist offset energy purchases at night time.
The photo voltaic plant operates below a Energy Buy Settlement with a photo voltaic PV supplier and, initially, will meet roughly 80% of the oil’s vitality wants. The plans embody the inclusion of lithium ion batteries, DC-coupled with photo voltaic inverters and have a complete capability of 20 MWh. This vitality storage system will improve the quantity of photo voltaic electrical energy fed on to the sector and scale back prices by controlling when the location makes use of saved photo voltaic electrical energy reasonably than electrical energy from the grid. The battery system will even improve the variety of LCFS credit by 15% of the credit generated by photo voltaic alone. Collectively, solar energy plus vitality storage gives a strong renewable vitality answer.
This venture will create many advantages for the Misplaced Hills oil area by reducing electrical energy prices, decreasing GHG emissions, producing state LCFS credit and federal Renewable Vitality Certificates, and demonstrating a dedication to vitality transition by way of funding. in renewable expertise. Hopefully, Misplaced Hills photo voltaic will probably be a mannequin for related future initiatives in different oil fields, not solely in California, however around the globe.
Obtain the complete paper from SPE’s Well being, Security, Surroundings, and Sustainability Technical Self-discipline web page at no cost till January 11.
Discover OnePetro’s SPE 200839 paper right here.
