GHG Emissions, Industrial, Solar  -  August 2, 2024

Flint Hills Resources Adds Solar for Refinery Operations

Refinery company Flint Hills Resources announced it will be building a second company-owned solar installation to help power its U.S. refinery operations. 

The new solar installation will provide electricity to the company's Corpus Christi West refinery, which produces jet fuel, ultra-low sulfur diesel and gasoline, in addition to the chemical-building blocks used in thousands of everyday products.

The project is believed to be the second largest utility scale solar complex in the Corpus Christi area and the first solar project in Texas to provide on-site, self-generated electricity directly to an oil refinery. 

During optimal conditions, the solar installation is expected to satisfy nearly one-third of the refinery's power needs.

"We continue to improve our refinery operations and make progress toward our vision of being the best refining company in the industry," said Jeff Ramsey, President and CEO of Flint Hills Resources, in a statement. "We are proving that large-scale solar can be successfully integrated into large, complex industrial facilities, helping to lower costs while maintaining reliability and improving our environmental performance."

The 27-megawatt solar installation will include approximately 56,700 panels and is expected to help lower annual energy costs, improve energy efficiency and lower grid emissions. The project will be located on approximately 100 acres of the company's property across the west refinery complex.

The facility's expected solar energy production has a peak capacity of roughly 28% of the refinery's power needs. Scottsdale, Arizona-based DEPCOM Power has been selected as the engineering, procurement and construction contractor for the project. Both Flint Hills Resources and DEPCOM are subsidiaries of Koch Companies, LLC.

The Flint Hills Resources Corpus Christi solar installation will be the refinery's second source of on-site power generation. The refinery also operates a Combined Heat and Power (CHP) system, which provides about 30 megawatts of electricity. At peak capacity, CHP and solar installation together could satisfy up to 60% of the Corpus Christi West refinery's daily power needs. 

The solar project improves energy efficiency by locating generation closer to where the power is being consumed, which avoids line loss. The emission reductions associated with the solar project are primarily Scope 2 GHG emissions, which are emissions from the electrical power generation supplied by electric utilities needed to operate the refinery.

Since 2000, Flint Hills Resources Corpus Christi refineries have reduced criteria air emissions by 70% while increasing production to meet demand. The refineries have reduced Scope 1 and 2 GHG by more than 30% relative to production since 2010.