[Graeme]

A Solar-Powered Oil Field?

BrightSource Energy has broken ground on a 29-megawatt solar steam plant at a Chevron oil field in Coalinga, Calif.

The 100-acre project’s 7,000 mirrors will focus sunlight on a water-filled boiler that sits atop a 323-foot tower to produce hot, high-pressure steam.

In a conventional solar power plant, the steam drives a turbine to generate electricity. In this case, the steam will be injected into oil wells to enhance production by heating thick petroleum so it flows more freely. Oil companies typically rely on steam generated by natural gas or other fossil fuels to maximize oil recovery in places like the oil patch in California’s Fresno and Kern counties, where the petroleum is heavy and gooey.

nytimes

scientificamerican

[timmac]

Solar Powered Oil Field.



That almost sounds like a Oxymoron..

[dorlomin]

Negative EROI oil is still a very distinct possibility as it is so useful. Burning coal to produce the energy needed to haul oil out the ground would in effect turn the oil into a store of the energy in the coal. Its a pretty usefull energy dense store of coals energy rather than a source for energy.

Doing so with solar is the same thing.

[Outcast_Searcher]

Negative EROI oil is still a very distinct possibility as it is so useful. Burning coal to produce the energy needed to haul oil out the ground would in effect turn the oil into a store of the energy in the coal. Its a pretty usefull energy dense store of coals energy rather than a source for energy.

Doing so with solar is the same thing.

How is using solar to extract oil AT ALL the same as coal?

1). Solar is almost free (once you build the installation) coal is not.

2). The sun should last about 5 billion years. Coal won't last more than a few centuries, and the climate effect it has is apalling.

I know we have big problems WRT energy, but you doomers seem to want to put a negative slant on EVERYTHING. I see this kind of thing actually happening as good news (I am a moderate, not a cornie).

I have just been reading rebuttals to Lynch's recent blatant cornie oil outlook article in the NYT on places like "The Economist" exchange of views blog - and most of the world thinks the idea of Peak Oil is the ravings of irrational people with a religious fanatacism.

To the extent the doomers see even good news as negative, they make the case for this point of view. Then "the man in the street" rejects the ideal of peak oil (regardless of the timing/severity) as lunacy. How does that help anybody?

[BigTex]

Here is a solar powered drilling rig:

[Revi]

I think it's a great way to increase the eroei of oil. I wonder if they could use solar to power pumps as well? That could allow places that are marginal now to keep pumping oil out of the ground.

[Googolplex]

This is inevitable. Soon enough fossil fuels will be far to valuable to use for something like generating heat or power. For instance, could you imagine if gold mines powered themselves by consuming gold?

[Outcast_Searcher]

I think it's a great way to increase the eroei of oil. I wonder if they could use solar to power pumps as well? That could allow places that are marginal now to keep pumping oil out of the ground.

Great point. I've read various ideas on this. It of course would be limited to during the day, and it may be hybrid solution (say half solar and half NG), since most productive sites will want to pump around the clock (per what I've read on this topic).

But hey, burning roughly half the NG is a real improvement for the environment, and helps with the price/supply of NG.

I think it's inevitable, and all about economics. This is why I'm a moderate -- the faster the price of hydrocarbons rises (and is painful for all of us), the quicker solutions like this will be economically viable (and then desirable) and therefore put to work. And such solutions WILL put a meaningful damper on the price of hydrocarbons -- over time -- thus averting the "total doom" scenario.

That's why I'm so glad to see examples like this actually happening -- solar test cases / learning experiences for the future.