GlassPoint Solar, a US company that specialises in building concentrated solar power (CSP) facilities for the oil industry, has unveiled plans for what would be among the world’s largest solar-thermal plants, designed for enhanced oil recovery at a California oilfield.
Built for oil producer Aera Energy, owned by affiliates of Shell and ExxonMobil, the 850MWt solar-thermal plant would generate steam from a trough-based solar system, which would in turn be injected into the reservoir at the Belridge oilfield, helping to bring up heavy crude oil.
