Harnessing Renewable Energy for Power Generation

Harnessing Renewable Energy for Power Generation

Geothermal energy is created by the heat of the earth. It generates reliable power and emits almost no greenhouse gases.

Chevron's geothermal operations at the Salak Field in Indonesia produce steam to generate reliable power and almost no greenhouse emissions.

This is how it works: When groundwater seeps below the earth's surface near a dormant volcano, the water is heated by reservoirs of molten rock, usually at depths of up to 9,800 feet (3,000 m). Wells similar to those used to produce crude oil and natural gas are drilled to recover the water. Once captured, steam and hot water are separated. The steam is cleaned and sent to the power plant. The separated water is returned to the reservoir, helping to regenerate the steam source.
Only a small group of places around the globe provide the special conditions needed to generate geothermal energy. At these locations, deep fractures in the earth's crust allow the molten rock to surge close enough to the earth's surface to heat water underground.

What Are the Benefits?

In addition to providing clean, renewable power, geothermal energy has significant environmental advantages. Geothermal emissions contain few chemical pollutants and little waste—they consist mostly of water, which is reinjected into the earth.
Geothermal energy is a reliable source of power that can reduce the need for imported fuels for power generation. It's also renewable because it is based on a practically limitless resource—natural heat within the earth.
The electricity produced by our geothermal power operations is sold to local power grids, providing clean energy to fuel the growth of some of the most rapidly expanding economies in the world.

What Chevron Is Doing

Chevron is the world's largest producer of geothermal energy.
Chevron began geothermal operations during the 1960s in the western United States by pioneering the development of The Geysers, north of San Francisco, California. In the 1970s, two discoveries in the Philippines led to the development of the Tiwi and Makiling-Banahaw (Mak-Ban) geothermal projects on Luzon. We discovered the Salak and Darajat fields on Java in Indonesia during the 1980s and began commercial production in the 1990s.
Chevron's geothermal operations from the four projects in Indonesia and the Philippines currently have the capacity to produce 1,273 megawatts of renewable geothermal energy, enough to meet the needs of millions of people in those countries. In 2010, we began assessing prospects in both countries that could lead to more geothermal energy production.
Geothermal resources represent significant untapped energy. As Chevron continues to pursue geothermal opportunities, it is at the forefront of bringing this clean, renewable energy to our communities.