alternative fuels solar energy field takes shape

Colin Parfitt (right), Chevron’s vice president of Midstream, speaks with Joe Constante (left), a participant on a recent tour of the solar field.

Just a few months after breaking ground in July 2022, Chevron’s Hayhurst Solar Power Facility is taking shape. A joint venture with Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp., the solar field is closer to powering our Permian Basin operations with renewable energy.

By using solar energy, we can decrease the carbon intensity of our operations while freeing up energy from the grid. The 120-acre solar array is capable of generating 20 megawatts of energy per day and will help power our Hayhurst, New Mexico-area operations.

The New Mexico Land Office awarded Chevron and Algonquin a lease for the site earlier this year.

“The increased interest in use of renewable energy in extractive industries further proves the reliability and cost-effectiveness of solar energy and why increasing our renewable energy output in New Mexico is critical to the long-term health of our land and state,” said Stephanie Garcia Richard, state commissioner of public lands.

The expansive solar array is expected to be completed by the end of 2022. Once it’s up and running, Algonquin will operate the facility, and we will purchase the solar energy from them.