Chevron Corporate Responsibility Report 2009

Renewable Energy
Emerging Energy
Chevron is a world leader in developing and delivering energy from oil and
natural gas, which will remain the world’s predominant sources of energy for
decades to come. To meet the growing demand of developing economies, we
will need every energy source available, including efficiency and renewables.
We believe that the skills honed over our
130 years of experience to find, produce
and deliver energy will one day lead to
commercial-scale development of renewable
resources. To reach this point, we are
focusing on research and development of
renewable energy technologies that are
scalable, sustainable and profitable.
Chevron is taking a pragmatic approach to
renewable energy — pursuing and focusing
on those technologies that leverage our
core competencies, assets or competitive
advantage. These include geothermal,
advanced biofuels, solar, and energy efficiency
technologies. We conduct internal
research and collaborate with governments,
businesses and academia in researching
and developing alternative and renewable
energy sources. Through these partnerships,
we share information and are helping
advance technology as we look at providing
renewable energy for future generations.
Geothermal Energy
Chevron is the largest producer of geothermal
energy in the world, supplying
1,273 megawatts of installed electricitygenerating
capacity in Indonesia and the
Philippines. Our facilities provide enough
energy to meet the needs of 16 million
people in these countries. Technologies
and processes used in geothermal production
have much in common with those for
oil and gas. Chevron leverages its experience
in reservoir characterization and
drilling safely and efficiently to produce
this renewable resource.
Energy Efficiency Business
We believe the most immediate and costeffective
new sources of energy come from
conservation and energy efficiency. Our
subsidiary Chevron Energy Solutions Co.
(CES) is dedicated to helping its clients and
our own company become more energy
efficient and reduce emissions through
facility upgrades and the incorporation of
renewable and alternative energy sources.
Chevron is the only one of our peer group
of companies that has made a viable business
out of energy efficiency.
In 2009, we reinforced our commitment to
efficiency by endowing the Chevron Chair
in Energy Efficiency at the University of
California at Davis. The person appointed
will direct the world’s first university center
of excellence in energy efficiency.
In 2009, Chevron Energy Solutions
completed a 100-kilowatt solar photovoltaic
system for the U.S. state of Colorado
at its Department of Revenue building
and a 10-kilowatt solar system at the
State Capitol building. The installations
were part of a CES-managed $20 million,
six-year energy upgrade of more than 20
buildings and included energy-efficient
lighting, heating, ventilation and air conditioning;
energy management systems;
water conservation; and ground-source
heating and cooling at the governor’s residence.
The comprehensive project, which
resulted in the U.S. Green Building Council’s
LEED certification of five buildings, is
expected to reduce energy costs by more
than 25 percent and reduce CO 2 emissions
by more than 7,600 metric tons per year,
equivalent to removing nearly 1,500 cars
from the road.
CES also completed in 2009 the nation’s
largest energy efficiency and solar
Stakeholder
Engagement
Research Partnership
Exploring the potential benefits associated
with any emerging energy source can be
encouraging. But the path to commercializing
new energy sources presents many challenges.
The best way to solve these challenges
is through collaboration. Chevron’s strategy
for biofuels development is to collaborate
with the best talent at other companies,
universities and government laboratories —
to combine their knowledge of biomass with
Chevron’s expertise in making high-quality
transportation fuels. Partnerships include
Catchlight Energy LLC, our joint venture with
Weyerhaeuser Co., and collaborations with the
U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory,
Georgia Institute of Technology, University
of California at Davis, Texas A&M University,
and the Colorado Center for Biorefining
and Biofuels.
In developing advanced biofuels, successful
feedstocks need to be scalable, sustainable
and economically viable. They must have
optimal physical and chemical properties
and be able to thrive on marginal land that
would not otherwise be used for food. Over
the past few years, Chevron acquired a
tremendous amount of knowledge about
biomass and narrowed its list of potential
biofuel feedstocks from more than 100 to
fewer than 10.
Left: Michelle Long, manager of feedstock
supply for the Biofuels business unit of
Chevron Technology Ventures, inspects a
field of castor at College Station, Texas. Castor
produces seeds that are not used for food.
The seeds are crushed to release an oil that
could be converted to transportation fuel.
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