Priority Power Management, an independent energy services provider offering transitions to carbon neutrality, has entered a solar development agreement with FireBird Energy, an upstream oil and gas company operating numerous properties in the Midland Basin.
Under the agreement, Priority Power will develop a 6.5-MW PV solar facility located on 50 acres of FireBird Energy’s land near Odessa, Texas. FireBird Energy’s private primary distribution system will serve as the point of interconnection behind the utility meter.
“We applaud FireBird Energy for their proactive leadership in striving to produce low-cost energy for our country while reducing their environmental footprint,” said John Bick, the chief commercial officer of Priority Power. “Our entire development process was tailored to FireBird’s specific needs and objectives, and will deliver operational savings while reducing their carbon footprint.”
Priority Power will develop, finance, engineer, construct, operate and maintain the solar facility without upfront cost to FireBird Energy. FireBird Energy will enter into a 10-year PPA for the renewable energy produced from the solar facility. The PPA will integrate with all existing and future supply agreements managed by Priority Power.
“Reducing our carbon footprint is key to our environmental stewardship and social responsibility goals,” said Travis F. Thompson, CEO of FireBird Energy. “This agreement illustrates both our commitment to leading the way toward improved sustainability in the upstream sector and Priority Power’s ability to work seamlessly with our team, leveraging their experience, to achieve our objectives.”
News item from Priority Power Management
““Reducing our carbon footprint is key to our environmental stewardship and social responsibility goals,” said Travis F. Thompson, CEO of FireBird Energy. “This agreement illustrates both our commitment to leading the way toward improved sustainability in the upstream sector and Priority Power’s ability to work seamlessly with our team, leveraging their experience, to achieve our objectives.””
That plays so good in the press, “..reducing our carbon footprint…”, they’re paying for a solar PV farm because it’s cheaper and easier than bringing more power lines into the area at something like $10k a pole, it allows the oil company to get a REC to decrease their “carbon footprint” and allows the operations of drilling and pumping to use cheap ‘non-fueled’ energy to harvest their product, saving the company money in the long run.
Bottom line, big oil knows solar PV is cheaper than trying to harvest more gas and oil products, by burning some of the product to extract product for sale. It is also cheaper to use solar PV, than to bring in electricity from a centralized generation station miles away.