Where Solar Power Meets the Oil Field

Technology Review
Feb 24, 2011

Extracting heavy oil from the ground carries a large carbon footprint, because the oil must be coaxed from the earth with steam. In California's Kern County, where steam-hungry oil fields account for 9 percent of the state's natural-gas consumption, GlassPoint Solar is testing an alternative: a one-acre greenhouse full of solar heat collectors. The Fremont, California, firm hopes this method will deliver steam in a way that's cleaner and cheaper than burning natural gas.
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